Diesel Spill Incident at West Quay

The pollution response team at Hawke's Bay Regional Council responded to a marine diesel spill at West Quay,Ahuriri on Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred at 4.00pm when 50-70 litres of diesel spilled from a faulty fuel supply hose. The hose burst when refuelling an adjacent fishing vessel. The Pollution Response team was on site within 15 minutes of receiving the call with the ‘rapid response trailer’ to contain the spill.

Regional On-Scene Commander Ian Lilburn, attending the incident with other staff, said “The team had good cooperation from the vessel owner, so were able to quickly deploy equipment to contain and then clean up the spill with minimal impact on the environment.”

Absorbent booms carried on the response trailer were used to contain the bulk of the diesel spilt, which was then removed from the surface of the water using a sucker truck and absorbent pads.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council staff are liaising with parties involved to look at ways to improve fuel deliveries to fishing vessels to minimise the risk of diesel spills into the environment.

If members of the public witness an oil spill or have concern over an environmental matter, they should contact the Regional Council’s Pollution Hotline on 0800 108 838.