Authorities yesterday raced to remove 284 tonnes of oil from a Chinese carrier that ran aground off Taiwan after losing power in rough seas as Typhoon Kong-rey neared.
The Chinese-flagged Yu Zhou Qi Hang was transporting three cranes from Keelung to China on Tuesday when it stalled in wild weather, authorities said.
A Coast Guard Administration vessel was deployed to rescue the 17 crew and the Chinese ship drifted to the shore of Yehliu Geopark (野柳公園) in New Taipei City, where it ran aground.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP
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 Agence France-Presse photographer yesterday saw red cranes above the water, one leaning heavily and touching the rocky shore, while the Yu Zhou Qi Hang was submerged.
Tracking Web site vesselfinder.com said the ship was a 143m-long heavy load carrier built in 2012.
Authorities hoped to start recovering the oil yesterday afternoon, a Maritime and Port Bureau official said.
The Ocean Affairs Council estimated it would take two to three days to finish the work, with council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) saying no oil had been detected leaking from the ship.
“I saw early this morning that there was no oil pollution at the scene,” Kuan said in a Facebook post yesterday.
“Nature is merciful and the oil tank was not damaged,” Kuan said, adding that oil spill containment booms had been deployed.
Kong-rey made landfall in eastern Taiwan on Thursday as one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades.
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