The clean-up operation in the aftermath of South Korea's worst-ever oil spill is expected to last "at least two months", the Yonhap news agency said on Monday, citing the country's maritime minister.
The accident occurred on Friday morning when a crane on a barge crashed into the Hebei Spirit tanker near Mallipo beach on Taean, south of Seoul. Some 10,000 tons of crude subsequently gushed into sea.
The slick, which has already hit 50 kilometers (31 miles) of coastline, forced local authorities to declare a state of disaster, with over 8,000 troops, police officers and volunteers, as well as more than 100 ships and five airplanes, involved in the clean-up effort.
The spill is the largest in Korean waters since 1995, when over 5,000 tons of crude leaked into the sea off the country's south coast.