Vietnam Port Bars Cargoship Departure After Oil Spill

Maritime authorities in Quang Ngai ban a Panamanian-flagged ship from leaving after it spilled nearly 1,000 liters of oil at a local port.

The Panama-flagged Chinese-owned Race Express belonging to Nova Shipping & Logistics Pte Ltd can only leave Dung Quat Port after its owners have cleaned up the spill, reports Thanh Nien News.

The 43,000 DWT ship had anchored at the port to load wood chips for transport to China. Reportedly the crew of Racer Express was pumping fuel oil to ballast the vessel as it prepared to leave port.

Provincial agencies have started estimating the spill's impact on the environment and carry out further cleaning after a local response team mopped up the oil.

Estimates were that the spill measured 300-350 square meters.