Fish farmers in Shandong affected by oil spills in the Bohai Sea expressed disappointment at the government's apparent lack of action to help them seek compensation and punish the culprits of one of the mainland's worst cases of marine pollution in decades.
There is little sign of any breakthrough five months after the spills at the largest offshore oilfield, Penglai 19-3, leaving affected fish farmers in Hebei, Liaoning and Shandong in the lurch.
'Why hasn't the government got the balls to stand up to oil companies and seek justice for the contaminated sea and victims?' asked Qu Baozheng, a scallop farmer from Muping district in Yantai city.
Qu, 60, who owns the largest fish farm in Muping, said oil spills, first detected in early June, dealt a devastating blow to his scallop farming business, with economic losses amounting to over 3 million yuan (HK$3.67 million). 'We are extremely disappointed at marine and other authorities who have been indifferent to our sufferings while continuing with their endless bickering and trying to shrug off their responsibilities,' he said.
Qu is among 30 fish farmers from two scallop farming townships in Muping who plans to press charges next week against US oil giant ConocoPhillips, the rigs' operator, and its partner the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which owns 51 per cent of the rigs.
The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) wrapped up an official investigation into the spills and issued a statement last Friday, which reiterated its previous findings attributing the contamination to negligence by a mainland subsidiary of the Boston-based firm.
SOA, which again exonerated CNOOC from blame in its latest statement, has long been challenged over its impartiality as a regulator in the handling of the controversy.