Asia/Pacific News
Large Bunker Spill as Containership Reported to have Broken in Two
- Update 1 - Subsequent reports indicate that as at March 31, 2016, the vessel has fractured down the middle but has not fully split in two. [ Read More ]
The 2006-built containership TS Taipei, which grounded off Shimen, Taiwan, earlier this month, has caused a large bunker spill after the vessel fractured down the middle leading to reports it had split in two last Thursday.
Local reports indicate that some of the bunkers were removed from the vessel prior to the spill, but around 200 metric tonnes of fuel were said to be onboard at the time of the break up.
It is currently unclear as to how much of the fuel has actually spilled, but some 2 km of coastline are reported to have now been polluted since the ship ran aground on March 10, with Michael Lee, secretary-general of Society of Wilderness, telling AFP "it could take at least three years for the local ecological system to recover to some extent."
Bad weather is reported to have hampered clean-up efforts over the last few days, but bunker removal has now resumed after conditions were said to have improved.
The 1,530 TEU capacity vessel is controlled by TS Lines.
