Tanker Runs Aground Spilling Oil

A tanker loaded with oil grounded close to a fishing port polluting several kilometers of coastline.

During a heavy storm last Sunday, a tanker carrying 786 tons of fuel oil and diesel fuel struck a reef off Sakhalin. The vessel foundered 150 meters from the fishing port of Nevelsk, about 100 km north of Hokkaido.

Sakhalin government’s Department of Emergencies Ministry reported a bad environmental damage. Oil is found coated over 3.5-km stretch of the shore, with the sticky sludge extending up to 4 meters on land from the water line. It is considered as a fairly serious incident. But no serious pollution is expected to affect Japan.

Cleanup operations are underway. The Emergencies Ministry is working on the cleanup activities. Two ships and more than 100 personnel are currently involved in the recovery effort. Reports say that the cleanup will take at least two weeks for completion.

Cleanup work is focused on the fishing port adjacent to the wreck site as Sakhalin is a major producer of oil and natural gas and has extensive infrastructure used by the extractive industries.

Source :  Japan Times

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