18 February 2004 14:58
NSW: Tanker stops leaking oil, may soon be ready for harbour
SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - An oil tanker stuck in limbo off the NSW coast appears to have stopped leaking oil and could be
allowed to dock in Sydney Harbour as early as tonight. Talks were continuing today over the fate of the Shell-chartered
vessel Eurydice, which began leaking oil through a 15cm crack in its hull on Saturday as it approached Sydney Harbour.
The Cypriot-flagged ship has been forced to stand at least 15 nautical miles offshore outside NSW waters and far enough
away for the coastline not to be affected. The leaking tank has had seawater pumped into it, allowing the oil to float
to the surface. "This means seawater is the only substance leaking out of the crack, with only a very small amount
of entrained oil," Environment Minister Bob Debus said in a statement. "However, we have to be absolutely sure
no environmental damage will occur before we allow the vessel to come any closer to Sydney Harbour." The
ship's technical managers, Jahre Wallem AS, said an outside patch would be placed on the hull as soon as weather
conditions permitted. A spokeswoman for Mr Debus later said the ship could be allowed into the harbour as early as
tonight if the problem was fixed. Meanwhile, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said the incident highlighted the
unreliability of flag of convenience ships - vessels criticised by unions as being nominally associated with a given
country to avoid the strict safety standards of other nations. "Despite being a double-hulled vessel, the Eurydice
is 18 years old and very close to its use-by date, with a crew of Russian, Indian and Filipino seafarers," the
union said in a statement. The MUA said flag of convenience ships had been behind the bulk of oil spills and sea
pollution. AAP jh/nf/cjh/jlw
[AAP News] |
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