Oil spill at Yeosu port as GS Caltex's oil pipelines crack on VLCC collision

04-Feb-14

South Korea has swung into action to clean up an oil spill at Yeosu port, due to the cracking of oil pipelines run by GS Caltex following a collision with a Singapore-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier, various sources said Monday, as per Platts. The incident occurred on January 31, when the 318,572 dwt Wu Yi San collided with a shore jetty and a pipeline, Singapore-based Ocean Tankers, the owner of the ship and the transportation arm of trading house Hin Leong, said. According to a statement from South Korea's Coast Guard Monday, three floating pipelines were ruptured off the southeastern coast, when the VLCC carrying 278,584 mt of North Sea crude collided with a bridge connecting a pier. About 164 mt (1,202 barrels) of oil -- crude oil, naphtha and other oil compounds -- was spilled into the waters, the Coast Guard said. But there were no spills from the tanker because the pipelines were immediately closed, it said. When contacted Monday, a Coast Guard official said that the majority of the spill comprised crude oil. Meanwhile, an OTC spokeswoman told Platts, "The VLCC was chartered to Shell; there was no spillage from the ship, that is for sure. We are cooperating with the authorities for the cleaning up operations." A source at GS Caltex said Monday that cleaning work was ongoing at the accident site, but did not give a timeframe on when this would be completed. "A cleanup of the waters is almost completed, while a cleanup of the contaminated shore would take one or two weeks," the Coast Guard said.