Diesel Spill Contained

At approximately 10pm yesterday night a spill of Diesel occurred while the ferry boats were being fuelled in the vicinity of RenRe and East Broadway.

The Department of Marine and Ports immediately sent 12 personnel to the site who deployed absorbent boom around the ferry dock area. The absorbent boom is successfully containing much of the spill.

As of 9am this morning, the old absorbent pads from last night have been removed and will be replaced later this morning with new ones. More absorbent boom and pads are being brought up from Penno's Wharf to deploy near the Blue Water Anglers Club and other areas. The new pads and boom will be used to address areas of sheen that are visible in the vicinity. 

Currently, the oil slick within the boomed area of the ferry dock is now only noticeable hard up against the eastern edge of the concrete dock that juts out into the harbor.

The Departments of Environmental Protection and Marine and Ports are currently at the site today to assist where necessary.

It was decided this morning that there is not sufficient quantity to make any retrieval of diesel via a skimmer worthwhile.

The cause of the spill was a failure in the fueling line, which was thought to have been leaking for approximately 20 minutes during fueling.

The precise volume of diesel that was released into the Harbor will be known at a later date when the Department of Environmental Protection has simulated the fault that occurred.

Volatile Organic Carbons (VOC's) measured in the air were low (<10ppm) which is expected for a Diesel fuel.

Environmental Health and Occupational Safety and Health will conduct a full review of the incident.