Hazardous chemicals were released into the ocean after a Taiwan navy ship collided with a Panamanian vessel in the seas off Tainan City early yesterday morning, sources from the navy's fleet command reported.
The 8,840-tonne ship, the Chung Cheng, was on a routine training mission in the waters off Tainan City's Anping port when it collided with the 3,668-tonne Panama-registered freighter, the Golden Chemical.
No one aboard either ship was injured but an estimated 96m3 of poisonous p-xylene leaked from the chemical ship, which still has some 3,000 tonnes of p-xylene in its hold, officials from the fleet command said.
Neither of the two ships lost power. The Chung Cheng returned to the Kaohsiung Naval Base at 6am while the chemical ship was instructed to anchor offshore, pending an investigation.
Since p-xylene is hazardous to both humans and sea life, officials from the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) rushed to Kaohsiung to find out the extent of the damage and what help they may be able to render.
According to Cheng Shean-rong (鄭顯榮), director of the EPA's Water Quality Protection Bureau, p-xylene is a flammable and poisonous substance which is harmful to humans through contact with the skin or by inhaling the vapors of the chemical.
Excessive exposure can cause liver and kidney damage, and adversely affect the central nervous system.
It is a flammable substance that occurs naturally in crude oil. It does not dissolve in water, so the p-xylene is expected to float.
Cheng said the spill, although small, is expected to pollute the area about 22km northwest of Kaohsiung Harbor.
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