BunkeringEnvironment

Bunker spill at Port of Tauranga

Auckland: Authorities are battling rain and high winds as they work to contain a bunker fuel spill in Tauranga Harbour.

The spill occurred this morning when an oil line on a berthed ship leaked while it was bunkering. The spill was spotted by Bridge Marina staff, and the bunkering process stopped immediately while responders attempted to get under the wharf to fix the leak.

Regional council oil spill on scene commander Adrian Heays explained that severe weather was hampering the oil retrieval process, saying: “Some booms were proving ineffective in the high winds and heavy seas, so staff were using the best booms for the conditions.“

Four slicks have been spotted in the harbour so far, with Heays adding: “At this stage we don’t have any idea how much oil was lost. This means there could be oil coming ashore on beaches, and on boats.”

The name of the vessel involved has not been released as yet, however Maritime New Zealand has been informed of the incident and further details are expected to be released soon.

Grant Rowles

Grant spent nine years at Informa Group based in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. He gained strong management experience in publishing, conferences and awards schemes in the shipping and legal areas, working on a number of titles including Lloyd's List. In 2009 Grant joined Seatrade responsible for the commercial development of Seatrade’s Asia products. In 2012, with Sam Chambers, he co-founded Asia Shipping Media.

Comments

  1. Just wonder what is the name of the ship. This is terrible accident and in this bad weather can quickly extend and cause ecological disaster. Hope the authorities will take care for it very fast.

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