Hebei Spirit

KOMOS
June 5, 2012
KOMOS MARINE, OIL POLLUTION SURVEYORS & ADUSTERS CO., LTD.
2012 KOMOS All Right Reserved.

To present the overview of Hebei Spirit oil
spill incident
To provide an idea as to the likelihood of
impact when oils strand in the coastal
region of Korea

About Incident
Mariculture Farm
Scope of Oil Pollution
Response Operation
Response Measures by Korean Government
Claims
Summary

On 7 December, 2007,
People’s Republic of China flag tanker, Hebei Spirit
(146 848 GT), lying at anchor at about five miles
off Taean County on the West Coast of Korea
Crane barge, Samsung No1, blown by the strong
wind into the tanker, puncturing three of its port
cargo tanks

Hebei Spirit
Crude oil escaping port cargo tanks

Locations of village fishing grounds and pollution
grades by MIFAFF
Satellite Image,
taken after 3.5 days after the spill
Courtesy of
European Space Agency

The Hebei Spirit laden with ~209, 000 tonnes of
four different crude oils
~10,900 tonnes of crude oil escaped into the sea
~375km shorelines in the west coastline of Korea
polluted

Polluted beach

Polluted Sokeunjin bay

Polluted oyster farm

Victims protesting against Samsung and Government

Mariculture farms
heavily populated
along the west &
south coastlines
Tidal range max 9
meters in the west
coastline
Therefore, mud
tidelands well
developed and
shellfishes &
seaweeds cultured

Laver Farms Layout in 2007
(Seocheon-gun)
Courtesy of
Ministry of Maritime Affairs
& Fisheries

Laver Culture Farm (Taean)

Harvesting Laver

Short neck clam Farm
(Keunsoman)

Oyster Farm (Sokeunjinman)

Rockfish Cage Culture Farm (Anmyondo)

Abalone Cage Culture Farm
(Taean)

Flat fish Hatchery
(Taean)

Shrimp Farm (Taean)

Salt Farm (Sinan)

Taean
Padori
Anmyeondo
Heuksando
Mandae
Chujado
Chungnam Province
Jeju
Gunsan
Jeolla Province
Oil first spread out towards shoreline
of Taean,
On 2007. 14 Dec.: passed
Anmyeondo
On 2007. 16 Dec.: Reached sea off
Gunsan
On 2007. 30 Dec.: Reached sea
around Heuksando Island
On 2008. 02 Jan.: Tar balls reached
Chujado Island.
On 2008. 06 Jan.: Last tar balls found
on Jeju Island

375km shoreline polluted in the west coastline of
Korea
Coastline of Taean (Mandae-Padori) severely
polluted for about 70km
100> islands in Chungnam Province and Jeolla
Provinces polluted
Beaches and other areas of the Taean National
Park affected (20 million visitors every year)

Commandant of the Korea Coast Guard appointed
to head the response coordination headquarters
Response vessels and equipments at Coast Guard
stations across the country deployed in the
offshore response operations
Local private clean-up contractors engaged to
deal with polluted shorelines
At the same time, plugging the ruptured cargo oil
tank of the Hebei Spirit

On 8 December 2007, ocean booms were placed
to prevent the oil from getting access to the inner
bays in which aquaculture facilities are
concentrated.
As the oil is moving southward by strong
seasonal wind and is riding on the tidal current,
the removal of the oil on the shoreline was the
matter of highest priority.

Marine
Police
[boatday]
KOEM
ROK
Navy
Fishery
Guidanc
e
Clean-up
Contractor
Fishing
Boats
Helicopter
6,630 889 723 97 81 11,444 309
Courtesy of MLTMA white paper

Marine
Police
[manday]
National
Police
Nation
al
Park
Local
Resident
Military
Person-
nel
Clean-
Up
Contract
or
17,460 32,356 6,663 563,896 152,695 55,838
Courtesy of MLTMA white paper
Volunteer
1,226,73
0
Gov't
Officials
76,684

Soldiers engaged with cleanup operation

Special troops engaged with cleanup operation

Volunteers

Surf washing
Tilling at beach
32

10 days after spill

On 24 December 2007, KOEM (Korea Ocean
Environment Management Corporation ) has
obtained a court approval to arrest the Hebei
Spirit.
Shipowner requested to provide a cash deposit of
KRW 50 billion (USD 40 million)
KRW 12 billion agreed for labour costs (incurred
from 7 Dec 2007 to Jan end 2008)
Hebei Spirit sailed from the port of Daesan on 7
January 2008

Locations of village fishing grounds and pollution grades
by MIFAFF
Ministry of Maritime Affairs
and Fisheries to place fishing
bans :
Pollution Grade A from 7
December 2007 until 19 May
2008,
Pollution Grade B until 9 June
2008 ,
Pollution Grade C until 2
September 2008, respectively

On 11 December 2007, Korean Government
designated areas affected by the oil pollution as
special disaster zones.
On 14 December, a total of KRW 46.8 billion
(US$39 M) hardship payment allocated
Contributions by Korean people, KRW 25.4 billion,
made for hardship payments

June 2008, special law enacted and amended
through November 2011
Korean government and local authorities:
1. To pay amount assessed by Fund ahead of
compensation subject to subrogation
2. To provide loans to victims if they have
submitted a claim but not assessed within 6
months
3. To pay established claims, if above the limits of
1992 CLC/FC

On 24 January, 2008, Hebei Spirit Centre in Seoul
opened in order to ensure claims efficiently and
properly
To provide 1) guidelines to the victims of pollution
incident on ways to file claims for compensation,
and handle 2) procedures of assessing and
registering claims

On 19 June, 2008, Korean Government
announced its intention to 'stand the last in the
queue' than other claims in order to accept
compensation after non-government claims are
settled.

In 2010, Korea Government joined IOPC
Supplementary Fund, which allows compensation
up to 750M SDR (USD 1.14B)
i.e. 92CLC/FC upto 230M SDR (USD 260M)

Ser
No.
Category of claims
1 Fishery, aquaculture and clean-up
2 Solar salt pans, seaweeds processing plants, food manufacturers, a
quatic seed hatcheries, cage cultures, etc.
Number of
claimants
6,052
3,877
3 Fishing boat operation 9,037
4 Hand gatherers 84,937
5 Restaurants, accommodation facilities, stores and shops
21,450
Total 125,353
Courtesy of MLTMA white paper

23%
10%
8.10%
21%
38%
clean up
fisheries
aquaculture
tourism
others
IOPC as of 21 Sept, 2011

The majority of claims were compiled and
prepared by the faculties of fishery colleges,
lawyers, surveyors and claims adjusters on behalf
of the fishermen.

IOPC Fund accepted a loss of earning period from
7 Dec until 29 February 2008 only
i.e. Sokeunjin up to 31 July
CLC Limit: KRW 186.8 B
CLC + Fund Limit: KRW 321.6 B

~1,544 households are cultivating oyster farms
(583.7 ha) in Taean, 5.5 miles away from the spill
site
Korean Government decided to remove the
contaminated oyster cultivation structures to
avoid re-contaminating summer resorts in the
vicinity.

Polluted oyster farm

Polluted oyster

Largest oil spill in Korea
Over 128,000 claims
New records such as Government
measures, nation-wide volunteers, local
fishery university engagement in claimant’s
side, etc

TOTAL NUMBER OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM THE INCIDENT
KOMOS MARINE, OIL POLLUTION SURVEYORS & ADUSTERS CO., LTD.