Sorbent booms and an oil skimming barge were pressed into action by an incident team last Friday evening (December 19) when an oil spill was discovered in the Whangarei Harbour.
Refining New Zealand has confirmed the oil spillage was from the bunker (fuel) tanks of the crude oil tanker HS Alcina.
The spill was discovered at 4pm on Friday and triggered a full incident response. A response team comprising refinery and regional council staff used sorbent booms to stop the spill from washing ashore on the beach between the refinery and Northport.
The oil skimming barge ‘Taranui’ was also used to capture oil outside the boomed area.
As a precaution Refining New Zealand says it mobilised teams at first light on Saturday (December 20) to look for any traces of oil along the shoreline and at sea.
While the search found nothing the teams remain on the lookout, but the response is being wound down.
“As unfortunate as the incident was, I hope that the response will reassure the public and particularly our neighbours, that we take these things seriously and that through investment in time, equipment and training, we are prepared for these type of events,” says Refining NZ chief executive officer Sjoerd Post.
