Red Alert on Oil Spill as Ships CollideEmergency measures have been taken to prevent oil leaking from a stricken Chinese oil tanker which collided with a Greek container carrier early Thursday morning near Xiamen, a coastal city in Southeastern China, according to today's China Daily.Four rescue ships were dispatched to the site soon after the accident happened just after midnight, official news said. Loaded with 8,600 tons of diesel oil, the tanker has so far not leaked any of its noxious cargo. The capsized tanker, Yunhong, was owned by the Yunhong Shipping Company of Yueqing, Wenzhou, in East China's Zhejiang Province. It collided with the Greek-registered container ship Edinburgh, that was leaving the port six nautical miles south of Xiamen at 12:30 am Thursday. The Yunhong's engines failed and the vessel's below-deck chambers began to fill with water, forcing the crew to abandon ship. Upon receiving an emergency signal, Chinese maritime safety authorities dispatched six salvage vessels to the site of accident. By 1:49 am Thursday, all the 22 crew members had been pulled from the water. The Edinburgh suffered only minor damage and is docked near the site of accident. It weighs 55,889 tons and carries 3,000 TEUs. The Yunhong, with a carrying capacity of 8,800 tons, completely sank at 7 am. Relevant Chinese departments, such as Xiamen Maritime Affairs Bureau, are working to check possible oil leakage and have begun to transfer the oil off the wrecked tanker. And supervision and preventive measures have been taken to prevent possible pollution of the waters, such as making enclosure and spraying oil-melting chemicals to avoid oil spreading around the sunken ship. A special team has been established by the bureau to investigate the reasons for the accident. |
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