1. Background: A Barge owned by Samsung collided with the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT on December 8, 2007, 10 km (6.2 miles) off the coast of South Korea, west of Taean county. The M/V HEBEI SPIRIT sustained 3 large punctures and subsequently released an estimated 2.8 million gallons of crude oil. The vessel is currently anchored and has temporary patches on all of the punctures. Over 160 km (100 miles) of coastline have been impacted, with the heaviest concentrations of oil being Teaen county and points 30 miles to the north.

2. Situation –Korea Coast Guard ’ s main office is located in Incheon, Korea, approximately 100 miles from the impact area. They have set up a forward operating EOC in Taean County. –There is an astounding amount of volunteer involvement, with full support from the government. –At this point, there is no Responsible Party. Korea Coast Guard is conducting an investigation to determine whether the collision occurred at the fault of the owner/operator of the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT, or the owners of the Samsung Crane Barge. Unlike US spills, the owner of the product is not automatically deemed the RP. –The Korea Coast Guard (KCG) officially requested U.S. Government assistance via letter on December 10, 2007. –Clean-up operations are generating a tremendous amount of oiled debris. The debris and oiled waste is being collected by Korea Ministry of Environment.

3. Situation updates (new facts learned today) –Today, 16DEC, there were an anticipated 40,000 responders working on the spill. This number includes GSK, military, police and volunteers. There are no contractors involved. –The volunteers are hail from all areas of Korea. Volunteers sign up via a website. Provinces throughout the nation have set up pickup areas where volunteers gather and are subsequently bused to the various cleanup locations. They are then bused home each evening. There are volunteers from as far away as Pusan, roughly 200 miles. –The punctures in the hull of the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT were located in port cargo tanks #1, #3 & #5. Each tank contained a different product. Fortunately, though all different, each was a light Arabian crude with very similar characteristics. –As of 15DEC07, the response has resulted in the collection/recovey of 1,786 tonnes of oily liquid and 11,304 tonnes of oiled solids and debris. –The are now oil spill specialist from Japan (7), the UN (5) and EU (5).

4. TODAY ’ S AGENDA & OBSERVATIONS Today we went to Korea CG headquarters to receive the analysis of the oil and tour their Research and Development Center. KCG has a very capable oil and chemical analysis laboratory. They conduct their own oil fingerprinting, chemical composition analysis, and oil weathering tests. It was a very impressive setup. Ed Levine has received the analysis report and has sent it to NOAA reps stateside for their thoughts on the oils likely behavior and fate. We were given a tour of KCG HQ command center. They have a 2 story video display board that essentially monitors all aspects of the response. The have live video capabilities from the CG cutters on scene, AIS, and live status display boards.

5. Korea Coast Guard Research and Development Lab Tour

7. Oil Samples

8. KCG Headquarters Display Board

9. Meeting with MOFAT The US Assessment team met with the Deputy Director and the Assistant Director of the ROK Ministry Of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries (MOFAT). The Korea Coast Guard works for MOFAT They were interested in our opinions regarding the tactics, preparedness, and operations being conducted by KCG. We reported our findings, which were very positive. MOFAT has contracted a C130 owned by East Asia Response Limited (EARL) to standby with installed ADDS Pack and dispersant. This serves primarily as a contingency plan for when the M/V HEBEI SPIRIT moved to a pier.

10. Future Plans Tomorrow, 17DEC, the US Assessment team will travel to Seoul to meet with various staff members at the US Embassy. We plan on traveling early in the morning. We will be spending the morning and early afternoon drafting our recommendation report. At 1400, we meet with the staff members. Immediately after the meeting, we will be meeting with the US Ambassador to Korea. Tuesday, 18DEC, we will be meeting with the other international oil spill teams. We hope to generate a collaborative report/recommendation document. At present time, we have a departure date of 22DEC07. We will move this earlier or later as the situation dictates. The international oil spill specialists from Japan, the UN, and EU, are scheduled to depart between 21-23DEC.