Carrying 20 tonnes of marine diesel fuel i
Investigations are under way into the grounding of a supply ship carrying 20 tonnes of marine diesel fuel in the lagoon of the world heritage-listed Lord Howe Island.
As NSW Maritime sent a marine investigator to the coral-fringed island to inspect the MV Island Trader, which ran aground on Monday, the Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon told the Herald she warned the state government seven years ago that the operations of the ship were ”an accident waiting to happen”.
”The state government has for too long got away with lax arrangements for this shipping service,” Ms Rhiannon said.
She had said there were grave fears that the ship, which rides very low in the water and carries fuel supplies in a single-skinned hull, could cause an environmental disaster if it was involved in an accident.
The MV Island Trader, which has the monopoly on the route carrying food and fuel to the island from Port Macquarie, hit a sandbank after unloading its cargo on Lord Howe Island.
Concerns have also been raised that environmental safety procedures were not immediately followed and pollution prevention booms were not put in place around the ship until more than 24 hours after it ran aground.
A spokesman for NSW Maritime said yesterday the boom had been put in place by Tuesday night as a precaution.
The spokesman said the ship, which can carry 130 tonnes of diesel fuel, had not been damaged in the incident and had not spilt or unloaded any fuel in the lagoon. ”It is sitting on flat sand, as it is designed and built to do, and is expected to be floated off at high tide on Sunday,” he said.
”The Maritime investigation will look into the circumstances regarding the incident and the operator’s compliance with the Marine Safety Act.”
A spokeswoman for the Roads and Ports Minister, Duncan Gay, said yesterday that they were watching the situation carefully and receiving hourly updates.
Meanwhile, engine failure forced a Qantas plane bound for the island to make an emergency landing yesterday afternoon. It was the second mechanical problem to ground an aircraft in four days. Twenty-three passengers were on the Dash-8 aircraft from Sydney when it experienced an ”oil pressure issue” with one of its engines. A spokeswoman said the plane landed without incident.
Source: AAP
