310 cubic meters of waste oil collected at ESPO oil spill site.

VLADIVOSTOK, February 1 (Itar-Tass) - A total of 310 cubic meters of
waste oil have been collected in Yakutia's Lensk district at the site of
the recent oil spill on the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil
pipeline system. The oil spill occurred on January 20.

The incident took place during repairs of a section of the mainline
west of the city of Lensk in Yakutia. The field pipeline rupture occurred
during the oil discharge into a specially prepared pit. As a result, up to
450 cubic metres of oil leaked on the ground and a slick one to 10 metres
wide, two kilometres long and two to 10 centimetres deep formed. There was
no threat of oil leaking into water.
The press service of the Far Eastern centre of the Russian Ministry
for Emergency Situations reports that 14,394 square meters of contaminated
territory have already been treated.
The incident did not affect the oil pumping through the mainline. Oil
is supplied to the port of Kozmino, Primorye, which is the end point of
the ESPO pipeline. Seven to eight trains a day left Siberia towards
Kozmino port. A total of 900,000 tons of oil were shipped from Kozmino to
countries of the Asia-Pacific region in January, in line with the schedule.
"By February 4 it is planned to complete all the cleanup operations
and by February 28 - to make the final cleaning of the contamination
zone," Vostoknefteprovod sources said earlier.
Snow and soil contamination at an area of 20 thousand square metres
was registered after the leak, the depth of the oil slick was 2 to 10
centimetres. There was no hazard to the population, the petroleum
products' transfer into water bodies also excluded.
It was decided to introduce an emergency situation regime in the
territory of the Lensk district. A response headquarters was organised in
Lensk for the coordination of the cleanup efforts. The whole contaminated
soil is being collected and removed in trucks for the following burning.
The ESPO is a pipeline system for exporting Russian crude oil to the
Asia-Pacific markets (Japan, China, Korea).

.Fishermen in Kamchatka end hunger strike.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, February 1 (Itar-Tass) - Fishermen of 12
fishing vessels belonging to the Cyprus company Akros have stopped a
three-day warning hunger strike. They protested, as their ships have been
idle for more than a year at the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky over
company's unsettled problem with repaying loans.
The participants in the strike are in good health and there have been
no incidents during the hunger strike, sources from the regional fishermen
trade union told Tass on Monday.
The fishermen went on strike on January 29. Their ships were built in
Germany against state guarantee. Because of the problem with repaying
loans, they are formally still owned by the Cyprus company, and remain
anchored at port. The Akros company says the settlement of the problem is
within the competence of the Russian Finance Ministry. Fishermen say the
problem is stalled unreasonably.
According to the trade union, the Russian government will consider the
issue on February 2. The fishermen are pinning their hopes on the results
of the session, the sources stressed.

.Vladivostok Sollers carmaker reopens after month-long holiday.

VLADIVOSTOK, February 1 (Itar-Tass) - The Sollers carmaker in
Vladivostok was reopened on Monday after a month-long holiday, the head of
the public relations department, Varvara Nasyr, told Tass. She said the
plant would operate in two shifts. About 450 people work at the plant.
The car assembly plant was launched on December 29, 2009, and was
immediately stopped for holidays. At first the plant will produce
SsantYong off-road vehicles and ISUZU trucks.
It will begin with producing 10,000 vehicles a year, with plans to
make up to 30,000 vehicles a year in the future. The vehicles will be sold
not only in the Far East, but also in Siberia and western regions of the
country.
In the second half of the year it will begin producing four-wheel
drive commercial vehicles on the basis of Fiat Ducato, adapted to
conditions of the Far East.
Starting from the middle of 2010, the company plans to begin supplying
Fiat Ducato 4X4 vehicle sets to the enterprise in the Far East.
Ambulances, school buses, special taxis will be produced there on their
basis, and will be supplied to the market of Russia's Primorye, Nasyr said.
The new Fiat Ducato 4X4 was designed by the company after studying
conditions of the Far East with its difficult landscape, moist climate and
difficult road conditions, particularly during the winter period.
-0-zhe/


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