Hong Kong cargo ship hits sand ship with toxic chemical spill

At about 2 a.m. on April 13, a cargo ship carrying 40 containers drove to the south side of the Humen Bridge at the Pearl River Estuary, near the Guangzhou Port Channel, and rubbed against a sand boat. Three containers carrying toxic chemicals, toluene diisocyanate, were damaged in varying degrees, one of which was severely deformed and a small amount of toluene diisocyanate leaked onto the deck. Shamen Town Humen Port stated that there was no leakage of toluene diisocyanate to the surface of the sea. There were no casualties in the accident. According to analysis by the environmental protection agency, the air in the affected area has not been polluted for the time being.

Emergency treatment spot diffuse pungent taste

Around 4:00 PM, outside Humen Port International Container Terminals Co., Ltd. No. 5 and No. 6 berths, a fire truck and an environmental monitoring vehicle were still disposed on site. Not far from the two cars, a container rolled over the shore of the dock and several red buckets scattered on the ground. The scene was filled with a pungent smell.

According to informed sources at the terminal, these red barrels contained toluene diisocyanate, which were originally packed in containers. “The container was damaged during the collision and was urgently sent to the Humen Port Terminal for emergency treatment.” The informed person participated in part of the processing. "The leader gave masks and protective clothing to everyone, but it didn't seem to work or feel uncomfortable."

Song Lixin, deputy director of the Shatian Marine Department, said that the shipment ship contained 40 containers, of which 3 containers contained toluene diisocyanate. The freighter departs from the dock in Zhejiang and Humen Port serves as a stopover point. At about 2 a.m. yesterday morning, the cargo ship drove to the south side of the Humen Bridge at the Pearl River Estuary, near the Guangzhou Port waterway, and rubbed against a sand boat.

The damage to the hulls of the two ships was not serious and there were no casualties. However, rubbing caused three different containers containing toluene diisocyanate on the cargo ship to be damaged. One of them was seriously deformed and a small amount of toluene diisocyanate leaked to the deck. The crew immediately took measures to plug the drain on the ship to prevent the leakage of toluene diisocyanate to the sea.

Environmental protection department says air is not polluted

Song Lixin introduced that around 6:00 in the morning, the Shatian Maritime Department received a call from the owner to handle the accident. The ship owner then berthed the freighter at No. 6 berth in Shatian Harbour Area, Humen Port. Dongguan Maritime Safety, Fire Protection, Environmental Protection and Shatian Town Safety Supervision, Fire Control, and Humen Port Group quickly intervened in coordination.

The maritime department immediately arranged for the maritime patrol to warn at the scene of the incident, clean up the irrelevant vessels, issue navigational warnings via radio equipment, and allow passage of passing ships. City safety supervision and environmental protection agencies arrived at the scene to control the investigation, and coordinated the transfer of the equipment from the buyer and the dock, lifting the damaged containers to the shore.

The fire department of Humen Port, Shatian, carried professional equipment to clean the leaked toluene diisocyanate. According to the local government, the removal of toluene diisocyanate on the deck has been basically completed, and the owner is coordinated to transport the undamaged containers from the terminal. Under the guidance of experts, the fire department and crew are taking professional measures to handle damaged containers.

The person in charge of the Humen Port Environmental Protection Bureau in Shatian Town said that the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau conducted real-time pollution monitoring of air and water in the area. According to the data analysis, the air in the area was not contaminated. According to the ship’s response, due to the crew’s timely emergency blocking measures, there was no leakage of toluene diisocyanate to the sea surface. “We also extracted water samples from the accident waters for testing.”

Toluene diisocyanate

Poisonous chemicals have very high toxicity after inhalation. High concentrations of exposure can directly damage the respiratory mucosa and cause asthmatic bronchitis, which can cause pneumonia and pulmonary edema. Its steam and liquid are irritating to the eye and have sensitization to the skin.

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