OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Republic of Korea: Hebei Spirit Oil Spill
14 December 2007


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This situation report is based on information received from the European 
Commission - Monitoring and Information Centre, the UNDP Office in ROK, 
partner organizations and media reports. I. Situation

1. On 7 December 2007, a crane-carrying barge slammed into the Hong 
Kong-registered tanker "Hebei Spirit", which was at anchor approximately 
eight kilometres off Malipo in the Taean district on the west coast of 
the Republic of Korea (RoK), after a wire linking the barge to a tugboat 
was cut.

2. Three of five containers on the "Hebei Spirit" were punctured 
releasing roughly 10,500 metric tons of crude oil into the sea, making 
this incident the country's worst oil spill. The "Hebei Spirit" was 
carrying a total of 260,000 metric tonnes of crude oil. No casualties 
were reported.

3. The oil started hitting beaches on 8 December 2007. Waves of crude 
oil washed ashore, turning seagulls black and threatening various fish 
farms. The stretch of scenic coastline is 100 kilometres south of Seoul. 
The region is important habitat for migrating birds and has a 
significant fishing industry.

II. National Response

4. The ROK Government declared a "state of disaster", which facilitates 
the mobilization of personnel, equipment and material to cope with the 
situation by regional authorities.

5. An emergency operation was launched immediately. ROK Coast Guard, 
navy vessels and fishing boats, accompanied by several helicopters 
attempted to prevent the slick from spreading, using a boom and chemical 
dispersants.

6. It was not possible to prevent crude oil from washing onto the 
beaches in the Taean district.  On the beaches, a massive clean-up 
operation was launched, in an initial 6,000 people participating in the 
clean-up operations, including Government personnel, local residents and 
volunteers.

7. On 10 December, the ROK Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries 
reported that the operation to block further spillage from the oil 
tanker into the sea was completed. 80 vessels were involved in the 
operation.

8. ROK authorities, however, expressed concern at their ability to 
prevent further oil reaching the shoreline. More than 40 kilometres of 
coastline has been affected. The authorities found that their current 
equipment cannot effectively clean the oil. Therefore, the cleaning is 
basically done by people manually. An additional 7,000 people joined the 
effort bringing to total to 13 000 from police, military and civilian 
volunteer groups have been mobilised to help with the clean-up.

9. On 13 December 2007, the Government of the Republic of Korea 
requested international assistance from the UN Joint UNEP/OCHA 
Environment Unit (Joint Environment Unit) and the European Commission 
Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC).  Authorities requested:

- Deployment of a rapid assessment team to identify needs for further 
international assistance to the response operation.

- Cleaners (rock cleaners, sand cleaning machines) and its operation 
staff - initially five sets of cleaners are required.

- Other equipment may be requested based on results of the assessment 
team.

III. International Response

10. The EC MIC and the Joint Environment Unit began monitoring the 
situation on 7 December 2007, and initiated discussions immediately. The 
Joint Environment Unit began liaising with UNEP, Ramsar and IMO.

11. It was agreed between the MIC and the Joint Environment Unit to make 
a joint offer of assistance to Korean authorities, which was sent 
through the European Delegation and the UNDP representative in Seoul on 
9 December 2007.

12. The MIC requested assistance from member states, seeking experts and 
equipment. The Joint Environment Unit requested the availability of 
environmental experts from various UN member states and UNEP.

13. A joint team of experts from the United Nations and European 
Commission will deploy shortly to undertake a rapid assessment mission.

14. Information will be shared on the V-OSOCC

For detailed information please contact:

Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit (GVA)
Mr. Rene Nijenhuis
Tel. + 41-22-917-1815
Email: nijenhuis@un.org

European Commission - Monitoring and Information Centre (BXL)
Duty Officer
Tel. +32-229-69-514
env-mic@ec.europa.eu


UN Desk Officers:

(NYC) Ms. Kendra Clegg
Tel. +1 646 416 1140
Email: clegg@un.org

(GVA) Mr. Jean Verheyden
Tel: + 41 79 509 8116
Email: verheyden@un.org


Press contact:

(NYC) Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Tel. + 1 917 367 5126

(GVA) Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Tel. + 41 22 917 2653

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