A worker cleans the oil on the sea in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China's Liaoning Province on July 19, 2010. More than 500 fishing boats were set off Monday to clean up the crude oil that gushed into the sea after an oil pipe exploded at Dalian Xingang Harbor. Another 4 patrol boats kept monitoring the diffusion of oil and cleaning work, while laying out more protective boom. Xinhua / Ren Yong

English.news.cn
2010-07-19 21:07:07 DALIAN, July 19 (Xinhua) — Over 500 fishing boats Monday joined a massive oil spill clean-up operation underway off the coast of northeastern China’s Dalian City, three days after pipelines exploded near the city’s oil reserve base, one of China’s largest. Dalian officials said Monday the fires have been completely extinguished and the focus has shifted to the ocean clean-up and the investigation into the blast. A dark-brown oil slick has stretched over at least 183 square kilometers of ocean near blast-hit Xingang port, with 50 square kilometers severely affected. The slick can be seen about seven sea miles off Dayao Bay and it turns notably thicker about five sea miles off the bay and gives off a strong smell. The over 500 fishing boats have been loaded with oil absorbers and dispersants to help in the clean up south of Dalian’s Golden Pebble Beach and east of Bangchui Island, local maritime officials said. …

Dalian oil spill cleanup in full swing after pipeline explosion  via The Oil Drum