The cleanup operation after an oil spill from a container ship stranded off the New Taipei City coast was completed on Tuesday, while lawmakers yesterday criticized the government over the ship removal, environmental restoration and compensation plan.
A TS Lines Co cargo vessel carrying 411 tonnes of crude oil lost power and ran aground on a reef about 250m offshore from Shimen District (石門) on March 10, with oil spilling from the ship as it split apart on March 24. About 260kg of oil remains onboard, with cleanup crews unable to retrieve it.
Premier Simon Chang (張善政) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday inspected sites affected by the spill to confirm the completion of the operation.
However, post-cleanup tasks, including the removal of the ship, ecological restoration and plans to seek compensation were the target of criticism at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.
According to a TS Lines’ plan, it will take at least three months to remove the wreckage, while the operation would run through typhoon season and potentially expose the area to a second oil spill should the ship be further damaged.
“All we can do to prevent a second oil spill is hope there are no typhoons in the next four months, which is virtually impossible,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said, criticizing the Maritime and Port Bureau, which is responsible for supervising the wreck’s removal.
Demolishing the ship might cause the remaining oil to spill, so the best way forward would be to refloat the ship and tow it away, but the bureau has given up its authority and allowed the shipping firm and its insurance company — which are inclined to dismantle the ship with an eye to reducing costs — to direct the removal operation, Lin said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the government had difficulty seeking compensation for oil pollution caused by shipping accidents due to lapses in gathering evidence.
The Fisheries Agency should learn from the past and collect evidence as soon as possible to help fishermen seek compensation, chiang said.
Fisheries Agency Deputy Director Wang Cheng-fang (王正芳) said the agency had commissioned National Taiwan Ocean University researchers to assess damage caused by the spill to support compensation claims, with a report expected by September.
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