Taiwan races to remove oil from grounded Chinese ship

YEHLIU, Taiwan – Taiwan on Nov 1 raced to remove 284 tonnes of oil from a Chinese carrier that ran aground off the island after losing power in rough seas as Typhoon Kong-rey neared.

The Chinese-flagged Yu Zhou Qi Hang was transporting three cranes from Keelung, in north-east Taiwan, to China on Oct 29 when it stalled in wild weather, Taiwanese authorities said.

A Taiwan coast guard vessel was deployed to rescue the 17 crew and the Chinese ship drifted to the shore of Yehliu Geopark, north-east of Taipei, where it ran aground.

The Yu Zhou Qi Hang was carrying 247 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 37 tonnes of light diesel oil, the coast guard said.

An AFP photographer on Nov 1 saw red cranes above the water, one leaning heavily and touching the rocky shore, while the Yu Zhou Qi Hang was submerged.

Tracking website vesselfinder.com said the ship was a 143m-long heavy load carrier built in 2012.

Authorities hoped to start recovering the oil on Nov 1 afternoon, an official in the Maritime and Port Bureau told AFP.

The Ocean Affairs Council estimated it would take two to three days to finish, with its minister, Ms Kuan Bi-ling, saying no oil had been detected leaking from the ship.

“I saw early this morning that there was no oil pollution at the scene,” Ms Kuan said in a Facebook post on Nov 1.

“Nature is merciful and the oil tank was not damaged,” Ms Kuan said, adding that oil spill containment booms had been deployed.

Kong-rey made landfall in eastern Taiwan on Oct 31 as one of the biggest typhoons to hit the island in decades, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

At least two people were killed and 580 were injured as the storm pounded the island with fierce winds and torrential rain, before weakening on Nov 1 to a severe tropical storm as it crossed the Taiwan Strait. AFP