Roger Jaensch,Minister for the Environment
Responding to the oil spill at the Port of Devonport has been a mammoth task, but years of planning and preparation meant multiple agencies were able to act quickly to contain the spill.
The Environment Protection Authority, TasPorts, BridgePro, Tasmanian Divers Group, Marine and Safety Tasmania, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have all have worked in unison since a commercial vessel collided with two tugboats on January 28, causing fuel and oil to spill into the Mersey River.
On Monday I received an on-site briefing from the Incident Controller managing the oil spill response in the Port of Devonport.
The incident response team, led by the EPA and TasPorts, has made significant progress in the clean-up effort.
Floating booms and several oil skimmers were rapidly deployed, and a specialist salvage team and equipment were brought in from South Australia.
An estimated 65,000 litres of spillage have been removed from the Mersey River so far. Divers have sealed sections of the submerged vessels to prevent any further spills.
The timely, coordinated efforts of everyone involved helped to prevent the oil spill from washing up on nearby beaches.
Important learnings from this incident will be used to refine Tasmania’s response to oil spill emergencies and implementation of the Marine-related Incidents (MARPOL Implementation) Act 2020 going forward.
A Level 2 marine pollution incident was declared by the EPA, but the worst of the spill was contained early thanks to the quick actions of the incident response team and has resulted in minimal impacts to the surrounding environment.
Efforts are continuing to recover the oil within the containment area and TasPorts has begun work to salvage the vessels.
As this stage of the response starts to wind down, I would like to thank all members of the response team for their important and tireless work since the incident.
Members of the public in the area are encouraged to keep a look out for any injured or oiled wildlife, which can be reported to the Marine Conservation Program on 0427 942 537.
