The Chinese ship Shun Anxing sank on May 14 off the coast of the northern port city of Hai Phong, leaving an oil slick over 1km-long on the surface of the sea nearby.
The vessel was carrying about 4,000 tonnes of hewn stone and heading for Hai Phong when it was beset by strong wind and high seas, unsettling the cargo and imbalancing the ship.
It then went down three nautical miles from Hon Dau Island .
Rescue teams at Hai Phong Port rescued 18 sailors and the ship’s captain, Sun Gen Bing.
The Shun Anxing was also carrying nearly 58 tonnes of fuel oil, 6.8 tonnes of diesel oil and 3 tonnes of lubricating oil.
These began to rise to the surface a few hours after the ship sank.
By May 18, the oil slick had spread to an area of more than 100sq.m and was heading in the direction of Cat Hai Island , according to Dao Huu Sang of the Northern Oil Spill React Centre.
A possibility remained that oil canisters stored on board the ship would continue to burst, spilling out even more oil, Sang said.
The Hai Phong People’s Committee ordered the centre, along with the city’s Military Command, border soldiers and the Maritime Search and Rescue Centre to contain the oil spill.
The centre has already sent three ships and 52 workers to the spill area, said centre director Nguyen Hanh Phuc. He said the vessel’s owners had authorised local Viet Long Co to hire divers to locate the vessel and pump out remaining oil./.
The vessel was carrying about 4,000 tonnes of hewn stone and heading for Hai Phong when it was beset by strong wind and high seas, unsettling the cargo and imbalancing the ship.
It then went down three nautical miles from Hon Dau Island .
Rescue teams at Hai Phong Port rescued 18 sailors and the ship’s captain, Sun Gen Bing.
The Shun Anxing was also carrying nearly 58 tonnes of fuel oil, 6.8 tonnes of diesel oil and 3 tonnes of lubricating oil.
These began to rise to the surface a few hours after the ship sank.
By May 18, the oil slick had spread to an area of more than 100sq.m and was heading in the direction of Cat Hai Island , according to Dao Huu Sang of the Northern Oil Spill React Centre.
A possibility remained that oil canisters stored on board the ship would continue to burst, spilling out even more oil, Sang said.
The Hai Phong People’s Committee ordered the centre, along with the city’s Military Command, border soldiers and the Maritime Search and Rescue Centre to contain the oil spill.
The centre has already sent three ships and 52 workers to the spill area, said centre director Nguyen Hanh Phuc. He said the vessel’s owners had authorised local Viet Long Co to hire divers to locate the vessel and pump out remaining oil./.
