Sinopec last night admitted it owned the 150 tonnes of plastic pellets polluting Hong Kong's waters, after Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had earlier yesterday vowed the government would track down those responsible.
But the mainland oil giant did not elaborate on whether it had an agreement to sell or had sold the cargo of pellets, lost overboard in six shipping containers during Severe Typhoon Vicente two weeks ago.
The admission comes days after volunteers and government workers began cleaning up beaches affected.
'Liability is a complicated issue ... We will take our share of the responsibility and duty, and work with the government,' a Sinopec spokeswoman said last night.
Hours earlier, Lam said the government had yet to confirm whether Sinopec was the legal owner of the shipment, despite the company taking steps to clean the beaches.
A law professor said the shipping agent as well as the owner could be held liable for the spill.