China will carry out its largest ever oil-spill emergency exercise at Bohai Bay on Tuesday morning, said the Ministry of Communications.

The exercise will be carried out by the ministry and the Hebei provincial government, said Liu Gongchen, deputy director of the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, at a press conference on Monday.

The aim of the exercise is to check the country's ability to handle serious offshore oil spillages and protect the oceanic environment, said Liu.

Some of the most advanced boats and equipment will be put into use for the first time during the exercise, said Liu.

According to Liu, the exercise will mock up the explosion of a 10,000-ton oil tanker and a spill of 500 tons of oil. Emergency agencies in Liaoning, Shandong and Hebei provinces will collaborate to clean up the oil. A total of 500 people will participate in the exercise and 20 vessels and two planes will be dispatched.

In 2000, the Ministry of Communications established an offshore oil-spill emergency scheme and set up two emergency centers in east China's Yantai and Qinhuangdao cities.

Source: Xinhua