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Enviroment: Oil tanker adrift near Taiwan

Government officials are keeping a close watch over a fully loaded Panamanian oil tanker drifting in waters south of the country after the ship lost power because of mechanical failure, representatives of the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau said yesterday. The oil tanker, Orpheus Asia, loaded with 250,000 tonnes of crude oil, was on its way from the Middle East to Japan when it lost power and began drifting 37km southeast of Taiwan's Orchid Island. There is no immediate danger, officials said. Three ships sent by the Coast Guard Administration have been on the scene since Thursday. The tanker cannot dock in Kaohsiung Port because, at 330m, it is too big. The ship's Japanese owner informed the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau that tug boats had left Japan's Chiba Port and are expected to arrive at the tanker this morning, when it will be towed to Japan.
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