May-Jun 2008

Sydney Oil Spill

The MUA predicted a harbour oil spill a poster as far back as 1996. In August 1999 our worst fears were realised...

Crew of convenience implicated in desecration of Sydney Harbour.
The MUA predicted a harbour oil spill with this poster as far back as 1996. In August 1999 our worst fears were realised.
MUA launch master, Des Gray, Stannards, was tying up a vessel at Darling Harbour when the call came over his mobile that a tanker had leaked oil into the Harbour.

"We finished up, dropped off the linesmen and were over there within a half hour," he said. "The stench was pretty bad, a bit like rotten eggs, and the fumes stung your eyes. But you soon got used to it."

On the night August 3, the Italian flagged and owned oil tanker Laura D'Amato (formally Siratus) leaked 300,000 litres of crude oil into Sydney Harbour during discharge at the Shell Oil Terminal in Gore Bay.
The massive clean up operation, involving over 450 people, 33 of these MUA members employed by the Sydney Port Authority and Stannards, was a week long battle.

"Everyone was given masks, goggles and protective clothing and got down to work," said Des.

"There was no moon, but we could see the thick, brown, murky spill in the wake of our boat."

Des said he was ordered to run the booms up to block the spill going into Gore Cove where the yachts were moored.

"I argued that we should run the booms across the mouth of the Bay to stop the slick going into the Harbour," he said. "They eventually got us to do that. But by the time we got the Bay closed off, it was too late."

By 1am the booms were all out, visibility was poor, and work stopped for the night.
The next day Sydneysiders awoke in horror to witness what Premier Bob Carr described as the desecration of their Harbour. The slick encircled the city's great icons - the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. These were the images that were beamed around the world.
Over the next five nights MUA members from Sydney Port Authority and Stannards worked around the clock, cleaning up the Harbour.

"It was hard work. But well co-ordinated," said Des. "Everyone was panicky the first night and the Shell crew didn't seem that experienced to me. But after that we had a lot more people involved from AMCOST and Waterways. Everything was going well. We got the skimmers out, pumped the oil into containers and then pumped it out again ashore. Shell fed us each night.

"It was a filthy job. A few blokes nearly fell in a couple of times, our boats got so slippery with oil splashing everywhere. We all went through many sets of clothing and footwear. I think everyone did a marvellous job in the end. The men worked very long hours."

The tanker was eventually allowed to leave Sydney after its owners, the Naples firm Fratelli D'Amato, posted an $8 million bond to cover the cost of the clean-up and any fines.
The spill attracted blanket TV, radio and newspaper coverage, with the Sydney Morning Herald August 6 edition featuring an oily fairy penguin on its front cover and the Maritime Union's oily surfer on the back. The same edition also ran a Ships of Shame report citing the almost 300 vessels detained in Australian ports in the past 18 months due to serious maintenance, equipment and crew deficiencies.
The Maritime Union of Australia has blamed the Federal Government policy of promoting foreign flag shipping and the growing crew of convenience system, for the massive oil spill.
The crew on board the Italian flagged Laura D'Amoura, a mix of Filipino ratings and Italian officers have been implicated in the spill. Two valves inside the hull of the tanker appear to have been left open, negligently or deliberately, up to five weeks before the ship reached Sydney. These valves were certified as sealed by external surveyors at the port of loading in the Arabian Gulf.
A 60-page report by Sydney Waterways head Matt Taylor recommends prosecuting the owner and crew of the oil tanker responsible for the 10 kilometre slick.
Sydney Ports Corporation has commenced legal proceedings under the Marine Pollution Act against those responsible. The Act provides for fines of up to $1.1 million for corporation and $220,000 for individuals.

"The oil spill in Sydney Harbour was both predictable and inevitable, given the Federal Government policy of promoting foreign flag shipping," said Deputy National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "It was a shipping and environmental disaster in the making - a foreign flag vessel, with a third world crew of convenience. Yet, here we have a Government in Canberra determined to suspend all funding to the industry and lift restrictions on foreign vessels carrying our domestic coastal trade. What's more the Howard Government is also looking to find ways of crewing Australian ships with poorly trained, third world guest workers."

Meanwhile, in Geelong, the Environment Protection Agency, has convicted and fined the owner of the Malaysian ship MV Alam Tenteram (left) and its master $15,000 for pollution.
The charges relate to the illegal use of an oil spill dispersant and the discharge of water, dispersant and oil into Corio Bay on the night of Wednesday, August 12, 1998.
Magistrate Ian Von Einem heard that EPA investigators were alerted to the wharf No 3 by the Port Authority and Maritime Union of Australia representatives, who reported a milky coloured liquid about ankle deep on the deck of the ship.
Witnesses also stated that some of the liquid had flowed off the ship and into the Bay.
An investigation by the Environment Protection Authority discovered that the captain of the ship had ordered his crew to clean oil from the deck with a dispersant not approved for use in Australia.
EPA Prosecutor Graham Robinson told the court that the captain initially claimed the liquid was a mixture of powder residue from a previous cargo and rainwater. After further questioning, the captain then claimed that the mixture was dish washing detergent and water used to clean the oil from the deck of the ship,
EPA officers, however, discovered several drums of OSD/LT oil dispersant in the ship stores. One of the drums had been opened and was almost empty.
After extensive questioning the ship's captain finally admitted using the dispersant. The EPA immediately ordered the removal of the liquid by waste contractors before any further contaminated water escaped into the Bay.
Expert opinion was given to the court that one litre of the oil spill dispersant would take 10 million litres of bay water to dilute it to a harmless concentration of 0.1mg/litre.
When the matter went to court, the master pleaded guilty to the charge of disposing a substance in such a manner as to permit an environmental hazard.
In passing sentence on August 9 this year, Magistrate Ian Von Einem said: "We take pride in our Bay and when someone comes and creates a hazard they have to pay the price."
In recording a conviction he fined each defendant $7,500 and ordered the owner of the ship, Alam Tenteram SDN BHD, pay $4,984 in costs.
In the meantime yet another Panamanian flag of convenience ship has been involved in a collision at sea.
The Ever Decent boxship was involved in a 'head on' with the Norwegian Dream passenger ship in the English Channel in August.
Salvage crews were still fighting the blaze on board the container ship on August 24, when the passenger ship finally limped into her destination port of Dover with a gashed bow - still carrying containers from the container ship. Three people on board the cruise liner were reported injured.
This incident follows an earlier collision involving two Panamanian flagged vessels off Guam in January this year.

Sydney Oil Spill

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