The port of Dalian was operating normally for the most part on Tuesday in the aftermath of an oil pipeline explosion, Chinese officials have said.

The shipping operations that had been suspended were getting back to normal, except in the area around the terminal where crude oil is unloaded, Dalian Port Co. said in a written statement.

Dalian, located in northeastern China, is China's largest crude-receiving port.

The company further said that repairs were under way at the crude terminal, and handling and storage of chemicals and refined oil products such as gasoline were not affected.

According to the reports of the Xinhua news agency, an explosion in an oil pipeline last Friday ignited fires in harbor-side storage tanks and caused a significant spill of oil into the busy harbor. Cleanup crews were tackling a major oil slick; however, smoke was still coming from the tank area.

The Ministry of Transportation said an unnamed "catalyst" had been added to a storage tank, triggering an explosion that spilled 1,500 tons of crude oil into the harbor.

The China Daily has also reported that about 260 tons of the crude oil had been recovered by an armada that included about 500 local fishing boats. (With Inputs from Agencies)