Kanway Global has been leaking bunker fuel in Taiwan’s Keelung port since 16 March, causing seven other ships docked nearby to be tainted.
The leak happened shortly after the 1998-built, 1,675 TEU Kanway Global was refueled after 10 pm local time. Local reports suggested that too much fuel was pumped into the vessel, causing the oil spill.
After being informed, Taiwan International Ports Corporation’s (TIPC’s) Keelung branch urgently deployed oil booms to control the pollution, causing bottlenecks at the port. TIPC chief secretary, Lin Chien-ming said that all efforts will be made to clean up the oil slicks, which has spanned the waters from East Piers 2 to 11. TIPC officials said they aim to complete the clean-up by 5 pm local time today (18 March).
The Keelung City Environmental Protection Bureau initially estimated that 100 litres of oil has leaked.
The vessels smeared by the leaked oil include TS Lines’ feeder ships TS Busan and TS Surabaya, and Yang Ming’s feeder vessel YM Immense, which were all berthed at East Pier.
Even the hull of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ship Norwegian Sky was also stained with oil. while the hulls and cables of three pilot boats anchored at East Pier 6 were tainted too.
Affected ships were spray-cleaned, with the process prioritised according to each vessel’s scheduled departure time.
The Maritime Port Bureau will fine Kanway Global’s owner, Taiwanese tonnage provider, Kanway Lines, TW$300,000 (around US$9,100), per the Commercial Port Law. MarineTraffic’s vessel-tracking data shows that Kanway Global arrived in Keelung on 15 March, from Kaohsiung.
While it is not clear who is the charterer of Kanway Global, the vessel appears in Hong Kong-based TS Lines’ vessel line-up for its THK3 service that connects Taiwan with Hong Kong.
Alison Koo
Asia Correspondent
