13 sentenced in Dalian oil spill

The first trial of a major liability accident, which caused explosion and severe oil leakage at a port in Dalian in 2010, ended recently at the Dalian Intermediate Court. Thirteen suspects were sentenced to up to five years, and one was exempted from criminal penalty.

A manager surnamed Dai from Q.PRO Inspection and Technical Service Co in Shanghai was given five years for violating rules to take the business of desulfurizer injection and not stopping the workers' violation of safety regulation on the scene.

On July 16, 2010, an explosion hit two oil pipelines owned by the China National Petroleum Corp, China's biggest oil and gas producer and supplier, at Dalian Xingang Port, Liaoning province.

The explosion was followed by a severe fire and triggered a massive oil spill in the sea.

Results of a State Administration of Work Safety and Ministry of Public Security investigation showed the explosion was caused by improper injections of strongly oxidizing desulfurizer into the oil pipeline after an oil vessel had finished unloading its oil.

The accident left one worker missing and one slightly wounded. During the cleanup efforts, a firefighter died and another one was seriously wounded.

By Nov 5, 2010, the direct property loss reached 233 million yuan ($38 million), the cost for rescuing and cleaning up were 85.1 million yuan and 1.168 billion yuan, according to Dalian Evening News.

After the accident, the 14 suspects went to the public security institutions for investigation and confessed to their part in the crime.