Hong Kong has cleaned nearly 90 tonnes of palm oil from the beaches of Lamma Island after a collision last Thursday August 3rd between two ships in the Pearl River Delta estuary, “a few tens of miles” southwest of Hong Kong. The white blobs of palm oil started showing up on the coast on Sunday August 6th, mostly on the southern shores of Hong Kong Island and outlying Lamma Island. There appears to have been a significant delay between the time of accident, which happened in China, and the Hong Kong authorities being notified. Guangdong province authorities told local officials of the spill at noon on Saturday August 5th, two days after the accident. However, Chinese officials asserted that, because it was not known on Thursday or Friday that the spill would affect Hong Kong, technically there had been no delay in the notification. Guangdong authorities said that they only realized it might affect Hong Kong after it had begun cleaning up the mess. Hong Kong authorities claimed that around 1,000 tons of the solidified oil had spilled from a cargo ship involved in the collision and that between 200t and 300t had hit the beaches of Hong Kong. The water at a popular tourist destination fishing village was photographed as covered in palm oil and rubbish. A total of 13 beaches in Hong Kong have been shut down. The Environment Bureau said that the government was discussing the legal liability for the disaster with the shipping company involved, which it declined to identify. Although palm oil is non-toxic, and preliminary government laboratory results from water samples taken at 11 of the affected beaches showed that oil content in the water was extremely low, the decaying matter could harm marine life by triggering the growth of algae and fuel red tides when temperatures start to rise next week. If the oil has been contaminated by toxins, it could also harm endangered green sea turtles or dogs who eat it. Marine pollution law expert Zhu Ling, of Polytechnic University, told South China Morning Post that information on the ownership of the boats involved would be important in deciding which jurisdiction would handle damages claims. Zhu said that, if the owners were mainland China companies, the Hong Kong government could claim damages through the mainland legal system. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2105996/whatyou-need-know-about-oil-spill-affecting-hong
Liability for a major oil spill that closed 13 beaches in Hong Kong has yet to be determined after the slick spread to the city 's beaches following a collision between two vessels in China 's Pearl River Delta . About 1,000 tonnes of the oil was shed and 500 tonnes has been removed from Hong Kong 's beaches , including tourist hotspots . Hong Kong authorities were not alerted for two days about the crash , which occurred within 50 miles of the city . The oil company involved has not been identified , creating uncertainty about which jurisdiction will handle damages claims .