The Vietnamese oil tanker Petrolimex 2 collided with a Singaporean vessel Lewek Penguin early morning of September 30 off the coast of Vung Tau city, spilling over 300 cubic meters of gasoline.
The incident occurred at 4:00 am when the collision breached the right side of the tanker that has a capacity of more than 20,000 tons of fuel and 343 cubic meters of A92 gasoline.
Fortunately, there were no reports of human injuries.
A Vung Tau port authority representative said that the Petrolimex 2 tanker was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City from the Dung Quat Refinery in Quang Ngai Province when the accident occurred.
When informed, Vung Tau Port authorities ordered a patrol of the coastal area around the province to minimize the effect of the spill. They also asked the Environment Protection Agency in the province to keep a close watch on the oil leak.
So far no oil spill has been detected near the coastline, said the representative.
Authorities from the People’s Committee in the Province have asked relevant agencies to carefully monitor the spill and to inform other boats and ships to stay away from the affected area.
However, local port authorities permitted the Petrolimex 2 tanker to unload its cargo.
