Westport harbour fuel spill still being investigated

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:

An alleged fuel spill of thousands of litres of fuel oil into Westport's harbour is being investigated, with officials seeking more information as accusations fly.

The Kings Birthday Weekend incident, on June 1, saw West Coast authorities spring into action to contain the slick after a troubled fishing boat limped into port.

The boat was apparently taking on water while also leaking fuel oil, via an internal bilge pump.

The port set up some booms to contain the spill while staff, working with a regional environmental response team, undertook a cleanup by suctioning about 2500 litres of fuel mixed with seawater into containers.

A further inspection on June 2 found about 200 litres of fuel residue lingering within the harbour basin.

On June 4, the West Coast Regional Council-- which has environmental oversight for the region's waterways - said the impact looked worse than it was.

The incident sparked social media outrage with people expressing outrage at the "f...ing disgusting" spill.

West Coast Regional Council compliance manager Chris Barnes said on Monday (June 17) he had decided to continue an environmental
investigation into the incident because what had occurred was not really clear cut.

"I want more information," he said.

"There's some accusations that came out I don't believe were true - but there is a bit more that doesn't meet the eye."

He expected an update with more information within council's quarterly environmental monitoring report early in July.

Meanwhile, the council was called out about 4am on Monday to a potential environmental incident about 25km southwest of Westport.

It followed a vehicle crash on State Highway 6 in the vicinity of Costellos Hill, about 5km north of Charleston.

A car towing a trailer had come to grief after apparently losing control.

The front part of the vehicle was left suspended over a waterway.

Barnes said a member of the public who called it in was concerned about oil leaking from the vehicle going into a creek.

Fortunately the vehicle's occupants escaped unscathed but the scene looked "pretty nasty", he said.

An assessment at the scene ruled out any major impact on the waterway, he said.