Plus a look at how the city tackles water pollution in general
A total of 13 beaches in Hong Kong have been shut down by a palm oil spill from a ship collision that happened in the Pearl River Estuary in mainland Chinese waters last Thursday.
Several government departments have worked together with volunteers in cleaning up congealed lumps of palm oil that has washed up to the beaches, but questions such as how the incident happened and who should be responsible have gone unanswered.
Here’s what you need to know about the oil spill and how the city tackles water pollution.
Five vital facts:
● Two vessels collided “ a few tens of miles” southwest of Hong Kong in the Pearl River estuary last Thursday
● 1,000 out of 9,000 tonnes of palm oil from a cargo ship spilled into mainland Chinese waters and spread to Hong Kong. Only 88 tonnes have been picked up so far. About 200 tonnes were estimated have coated the city’s beaches
● A total of 13 beaches have been closed. Marine parks have not yet been affected
● Guangdong province authorities informed local officials of the spill at noon Saturday, two days after the accident. But officials denied there was any delay, contending “it was not known Thursday to Friday that the spill would affect Hong Kong” and that Guangdong authorities only realised it might affect the city after it had begun a clean-up.
● Palm oil is non-toxic, and preliminary government lab results from water samples taken at 11 of the affected beaches showed that oil content in the water was extremely low. Yet marine life could still be harmed by algae growth, and red tides could ensue when temperatures start to rise next week. The substance could also harm endangered green sea turtles and dogs eating it.
WHAT WE DON’ T KNOW
● What kinds of vessels were involved? Was the collision caused by negligence or weather?
● Who will pay for the clean-up?
● Is it going to get worse? It is unknown how much of the 1,000 tonnes of oil remains in the water.
How often this happened in the past?
Spills resulting from shipping are fairly common in Hong Kong.
About 493 confirmed oil spills were recorded between 2005 and 2014, according to the Marine Department. Of these, 135 were caused by shipping accidents or refuelling. The causes of the rest were unknown.
Last May, a 50-metre-long slick was spotted floating off Tsing Yi following a collision between an oil tanker and a mainland-registered cargo vessel .
