Chinese officials plan next steps in oil spill clean-up off Qingdao

QINGDAO, China  - Chinese officials were considering siphoning the remaining cargo at sea from a huge tanker that spilled hundreds of tonnes of oil into the Yellow Sea after it collided with a bulk vessel in thick fog two days ago.

Officials also downgraded the size of the spill from the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony to about 400 tonnes (2,920 barrels) on Thursday, from the original estimate of 500 tonnes, after further analysis. An official at the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration told Reuters the level of oil still on the tanker, which had been carrying a 150,000-tonne cargo of bitumen blend, remained "unchanged". That indicated the spill had been contained, although the official cautioned the information was not definitive.