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MT Hebei Spirit

Korea        2007-Dec-07

A crane barge owned by Samsung collided with the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT on December 8, 2007, 10 km (6.2 miles) off the coast of South Korea, west of Taean county. The M/V HEBEI SPIRIT sustained 3 large punctures and subsequently released an estimated 2.8 million gallons of crude oil. The vessel is currently anchored and has temporary patches on all of the punctures. Over 160 km (100 miles) of coastline have been impacted, with the heaviest concentrations of oil being Teaen county and points 30 miles to the north. Reports from the joint USCG/NOAA team assisting the Korean Coast Guard.

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Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report.

Public Advisories and Press Releases

AP News Article 2007-Dec-17
US experts aid S. Korean efforts to tackle oil spill 2007-Dec-15

Incident Details

Spill, potential spill, or other: Oil Spill
Cause of incident: Collision
Products of concern: Crude oil
Amount spilled (approximate): 3,200,000 gallons

Latitude (approximate): 36° 49.93' North
Longitude (approximate): 126° 2.46' East

Counter measures:
On-Water Recovery: Evaluated and applied
Shoreline Cleanup: Evaluated and applied
Dispersants: Evaluated and applied

Public Information Contacts and Incident-Related Links

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) provides science-based solutions to protect and restore the nation’s natural resources from coastal environmental hazards. OR&R serves the nation by providing expertise and a suite of products and services critical for making science-based response decisions that prevent further harm, restore natural resources, and promote effective planning for future incidents.