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EPA officials monitoring sunken Indonesian ship

"Should it leak, it may lead to substantial harm to the environment in that area."

An unnamed EPA official

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on alert yesterday after an Indonesian freighter carrying some 1,000 tonnes of chemicals sank off Taiwan.

The agency has set up a contingency group after it emerged that the 355-tonne Dewibunyu was carrying 1,000 tonnes of ethyl acetate, a solvent widely used in glues and nail polish removers.

It went down off Keelung on Saturday, officials said. Weather was rough a day after Tropical Storm Bilis moved across the Taiwan Strait, they added.

The eight crew on board were rescued by Taiwan's coast guard.

"We have set up a special group to make sure [the accident] will not have a grave environmental impact," Lu Hung-kuang (呂鴻光), head of the EPA's Water Quality Protection Bureau, told reporters.

The EPA was also concerned about the 27 tonnes of fuel carried by the ship.

"Should it leak, it may lead to substantial harm to the environment in that area," another EPA official said.

A small amount of fuel had spilled, but not enough to damage the ecosystem, he said.

Ethyl acetate -- a clear, flammable liquid used as a solvent -- can dissolve in water and may not cause significant environmental harm, Lu said. However, the agency said it will become more concerned if any fuel spills from the wrecked ship because that could damage the ecosystem in the area.

As of yesterday officials said that while completely submerged, the ship may still be drifting. No efforts have been made yet to salvage it, for fear that ethyl acetate might be released from the freighter, Lu said.

The EPA and the Coast Guard Administration are working together on pinpointing the freighter's location, he added.
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