Ferry company pays for oil spill

A ferry company has owned up to causing an oil spill in Picton harbour earlier this month.

Bluebridge staff found one of its ferries had a leaking oil line, which had released fuel into the ship’s ballast tank.

Bluebridge commercial general manager Ed Menzies said the Marlborough District Council was notified less than 24 hours after the ballast was emptied near Picton, about midnight on May 3.

The ballast held water at the bottom of the ship to keep it on an even keel, but was sometimes emptied so the ship could enter shallow water.

The streak of oil, initially believed to be from a ship’s bilge, spread from Shelley Beach to Mabel Island.

Menzies said the fault was ‘‘rare’’ and the company took any impact on the environment seriously.

‘‘The tank was isolated, so no further oil would enter the water, and our crew carried out repairs,’’ Menzies said.

The company also paid $4500 towards the costs of cleaning up the spill.

Maritime New Zealand were in Picton for an oil spill training exercise when the spill was discovered, and were able to help with the clean-up.

A ferry master of one of the inter-island ferries had called about midnight, saying he could smell fuel in the water, Marlborough harbourmaster Grogan said at the time.

The response team found an oily ‘‘sheen’’ over the water, but most of the ‘‘clumps’’ had been collected by the afternoon, he said.

‘‘The good thing about oil is it floats, so as long as we don’t have much wave action or currents, it’s fairly easy to clean up,’’ Grogan said.

A skipper in charge of the boat could face a fine of thousands of dollars or even jail time, but the council decided not to prosecute.

Grogan said he welcomed Bluebridge’s quick response in fronting up for the spill.

‘‘Fortunately our oil response team was on hand to deal with it quickly.’’

He encouraged anyone who saw an oil spill to call the Marlborough District Council on 03 520 7400.