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NOAA's OR&R Assists with Korean Oil Spill
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Tank vessel Hebei Spirit at anchor,
awaiting cleaning prior to heading to
port for repairs.
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On December 8, 2007, an 11,800-ton crane-carrying barge collided with the Hong Kong registered tanker, Hebei Spirit, 6.2 miles (10 km) off the coast of South Korea. The Hebei Spirit sustained 3 large punctures and subsequently released an estimated 2.8 million gallons of crude oil (as of December 17). Over 100 miles (160 km) of coastline have been impacted, with the heaviest concentrations of oil being Teaen county and points 30 miles to the north.
Including a tremendous turnout of volunteers, approximately 40,000 responders have worked on the spill. This number includes the government of South Korea, military, police, and volunteers. As of December 15, the response had resulted in the collection/recovery of 1,786 tonnes of oily liquid and 11,304 tonnes of oiled solids and debris.
The South Korea Coast Guard (KCG) has conducted oil fingerprinting, chemical composition analysis, and oil weathering tests. On December 16, at the request of the KCG, a joint U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)/NOAA team met at KCG headquarters to discuss the oil analysis and to tour the Research and Development Center. The USCG/NOAA team may also assist the KCG with cleanup issues, environmental impacts, and seafood contamination issues.
The oil spill (approximately three million gallons) is the largest in South Korea's history. This spill is about twice the size of South Korea's last large spill in 1995, and almost half the size of the Exxon Valdez spill disaster off Alaska.
For More Information
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- IncidentNews: Hebei Spirit OR&R's IncidentNews site has news, photos, and other information about this incident. [leaves OR&R site]
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