Oil Spill Threatens South Korea's West Coast Wetlands

South Korea's Coast Guard said the amount of oil spilled by the collision with the tanker was lower than originally estimated. The new estimate is that about 10,500 kiloliters - 66,043 barrels or 2.77 million gallons - of crude oil had been spilled into the Yellow Sea, staining the waters black.

The accident occurred around 7:10 am local time when the Samsung Corp. barge struck the 146,000 ton tanker Hebei Spirit in waters off Mallipo beach, about 90 miles southwest of Seoul.

Mallipo beach on South Korea's west coast (Photo credit unknown)

The tanker was anchored near waters designated as a national park before sailing into Daesan port to discharge its cargo. The west coast is one of Asia's largest wetland areas.

About six miles from the spill lie vulnerable fishing grounds and fish farms, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The Coast Guard has deployed dozens of ships in an attempt to contain the oil. Some are spraying a dissolving agent over the oil slick beach to keep it from spreading shoreward pushed by strong winds and the normal ocean currents.

"We are worried about an ecological disaster," said Kim Jong-sik, an official with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. "This is the country's worst oil spill.

Oil spill responders have set up a boom, trying to stop oil from spreading along the coast, but oil sometimes overflows it, depending on the currents, he said. The oil slick now measures 4.6 miles long and 1.2 miles wide, officials said.

The largest previous spill occurred in 1995 when the tanker Sea Prince struck a reef, releasing 5,035 tons of oil in waters off the south coast.

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