Residents worked hard to remove hundreds of tonnes of oil which was threatening a southern wildlife reserve in probably the worst maritime oil spill in Taiwan since 1977, officials said yesterday.
A team of 135 people, mostly local residents, were hired to collect the sticky oil which was washed ashore after leaking from a bulk cargo ship at the Lungkeng Wildlife Reserve of the Kenting National Park, said Liu Hsin-ming (
PHOTO: AFP
Marine mammals in the area such as dolphins could be endangered by the spill, Liu said.
"Further research is needed to evaluate the subsequent impact on the local environment," he said.
"It could take at least one more week to remove the more visible oil which is floating on the water over a stretch of about 3km."
Some 1,150 tonnes of fuel oil gushed out of the Amorgos when the Greek-registered ship carrying 60,000 tonnes of iron ore ran aground off the park on Jan. 14.
The 35,000-tonne ship was headed for China's Nantong from Singapore when it developed a mechanical problem and drifted on the high seas.
All 25 crew -- from Romania, Greece and the Philippines -- were rescued, but the ship later broke into two sections with most of it submerged.
The shipping company estimated there is still 200 tonnes of oil to be pumped out of the ill-fated ship's fuel tanks.
Chiau Wen-yan (
"The amount of oil leaking from the ship may be less than in 1977 when an oil tanker ran aground off northern Taiwan, but this time the impact on the local ecology could be far worse as the slick happens to have affected a reserve area," Chiu warned.
Wu Ching-hui (
The shipping company sent workers out to sea to collect the oil, but persistent high tides caused by strong seasonal winds have hampered their clean-up efforts.
The national park administration and fishermen are considering filing an environmental damage claim.
All of the ship's senior crew -- including the captain, chief officer and chief engineer -- have been presently barred from leaving the country pending further investigation, said Roam Gwo-dong (阮國棟), an official who is with the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration.
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