S.Korea ship detained for alleged toxic pollution

A Chinese maritime court on Saturday ordered the detention of the South Korean cargo ship Gloria over a suspected chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water source of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, a city neighboring the Yangtze River.

The Wuhan Maritime Court, which has jurisdiction over the region, ordered the seizure of the ship in Nantong, also in Jiangsu, where it last docked, and set bail at 20.6 million yuan ($3.3 million)， said Bu Xiaofang, a spokesman of the Zhenjiang government.

"Considering the interests on the side of the cargo ship, the ship could leave after the bail was handed in. The bail could be part of the compensation if the ship is found to have emitted pollutants," Wang Jin, an associate professor with the environment and resources law institute at the Peking University Law School, told the Global Times.

Some citizens in Zhenjiang have discovered dead fish and a pungent smell coming from the water when cooking and brushing teeth since February 3, according to eastday.com.

The suspicion of possible water pollution even led to panic buying of bottled water in local supermarkets later that day.

Information released Tuesday by the emergency management office of the Zhenjiang government confirmed that phenol levels collected on February 3 in water samples were excessive.

It said they "highly suspect" a South Korea cargo ship that had docked at Zhenjiang spilled the chemical into the river.

"We have gathered evidence that the source of pollution was discharged from the pipe of the Gloria," said Mao Desheng, deputy head of Zhenjiang's maritime bureau, at the press conference.

However, on Friday, the cargo ship company involved in the incident claimed that they did not discharge phenol into the river, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Further water tests in recent days have shown that water in Zhenjiang has returned to normal. Samples from cities further downstream have not been found to contain excessive phenol since February 4.

Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is an organic compound that can cause irritation to the eyes and skin. Soluble in water, if absorbed in large amounts it can damage the liver and kidney.

Wang noted that compared to similar incidents in other countries, the punishment handed down by Chinese authorities is relatively slight.

A collision between a Maltese oil tanker and a Chinese ship polluted the Bohai Sea off the coast of Tianjin in November 2002. The oil tanker was fined 15 million yuan, but media reports said expenses incurred in investigating the case and filing a lawsuit have already come to 7 million yuan.