Oil spill occurs in waters off south coast: Coast Guard

A tanker hit a landing bridge as it tried to moore at this southern port city, causing oil pipelines to rupture and spill oil into the sea, Coast Guard officials said Friday.

The oil spill occurred at around 9:30 a.m. when the 164,169-ton Singapore-registered oil tanker collided with a bridge connecting with a pier, they said.

The collision damaged three oil pipelines connecting into petrochemical companies in the Yeosu industrial complex, making oil remaining in the pipelines spill into the waters, the officials said.

The maritime police were making efforts to contain the spread of oil spill by dispatching 16 response vessels and a helicopter. They also built an oil fence along the shore to contain the oil spill, they said.

The cause of the accident was being investigated, the officials said. (Yonhap)