8000L of crude oil leaked from the Ulsan S-Oil pipeline… Sea police, emergency control
Reporter Kwon Seung-hyuk [email protected]
Input: 2021-03-05 09:36:41Revision: 2021-03-05 09:42:53Published: 2021-03-05 09:43:11
On the afternoon of the 4th, a crude oil spill accident occurred near the S-Oil Booster Pump in Ulsan City, and the Ulsan Coast Guard installed an oil fence in the river near the accident site. Provided by the Ulsan Seaview
A crude oil spill accident occurred at the Ulsan S-Oil pipeline, where the cause could not be identified, and the fire department and the Coast Guard initiated emergency control work.
According to the Ulsan Fire Department on the 5th, crude oil leaked from a 42-inch diameter pipeline buried near the S-Oil Booster Pump in Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan City at 6:23 pm on the 4th. The booster pump is a pressurization pump that increases the oil supply pressure so that crude oil can be transferred from the’Buoy’, an offshore crude oil unloading facility, to an onshore storage tank.
In the event of an accident, a report was filed at 119 stating that it had a “severe smell of oil”, and the company closed the pipeline valve to prevent further leakage. Onsan Fire Station, Ulsan Maritime Police Station, and S-Oil’s own fire brigade carried out emergency control work, such as recovering crude oil by spraying foam (foam) to remove oil vapor and mobilizing a vacuum vehicle to suck in the oil. In addition, a bank was built with sand around the accident site to prevent oil from flowing to the shore, and oil fences were also installed in nearby rivers. It is known that some of the crude oil flowed into the nearby Binjin Port through rainwater pipes.
The Coast Guard blocked the two outlets of the rainwater pipe and recovered oil to the storage container, and installed six oil fences in the narrow waterway of Leejin Port to prevent the inflow of crude oil into the sea. In addition, they prepared for emergencies by waiting for control boats and private control boats.
As a result of air and sea patrols using drones and security ships at 7 am on the 5th, the Coast Guard found that no crude oil spilled into the sea outside of Leejin Port. Damage to the surrounding fishing grounds was not confirmed. The fire department estimates that the amount of crude oil spilled so far will reach about 8000 liters. The maritime police and fire authorities plan to investigate the location and cause of the spill as soon as the control work is completed.
Reporter Seung-hyuk Kwon