A crane barge owned by Samsung collided with the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT on December 8, 2007, 10 km (6.2 miles) off the coast of South Korea, west of Taean county. The M/V HEBEI SPIRIT sustained 3 large punctures and subsequently released an estimated 2.8 million gallons of crude oil. The vessel is currently anchored and has temporary patches on all of the punctures. Over 160 km (100 miles) of coastline have been impacted, with the heaviest concentrations of oil being Teaen county and points 30 miles to the north. Reports from the joint USCG/NOAA team assisting the Korean Coast Guard.

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Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report.