China has succeeded in preventing the ocean from being severely polluted by oil leaked from a Chinese oil tanker that collided with a foreign container ship and sank offshore Xiamen in east China on September 20.
According to previous reports, all the 22 crew members on the Chinese tanker, Yunhong, have been rescued by local maritime safety authorities in Xiamen, while the foreign container ship, the Greek-flagged Edinburgh, suffered only minor damage and incurred no casualties.
Three experts from the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration arrived at the site later to look for ways to deal with the 8,688 tons of diesel oil loaded on the tanker.
Submarine pumps are being used to pump the diesel oil out of the tanker and by midnight Sunday all the oil is expected to be pumped out, according to official sources.
Measures were taken to prevent oil from spreading in the sea, including the use of 14 pollution-preventing vessels and a large amount of oil-absorbing materials.
Investigators from the Ministry of Communications have arrived in Xiamen to further look into the case.
(People's Daily 10/02/2001)
