Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has removed all available oil from the vessel ‘Geisha’ which was abandoned off the coast, south of cape Kidnappers, during the night of Friday 12 June 2009. ‘Geisha’ was ashore between Ocean Beach and Waimarama.
The Council’s Oil Spill and Pollution Response teams have been working with the salvor to remove the oil and then remove the wreck from the beach before it breaks up further.
“The vessel has been moved up and along the beach with each successive high tide and is breaking up, leaving debris on strewn along the beach,” said Bryce Lawrence, Regional On Scene Commander.
Last night, the Council removed the last of the oil on board ‘Geisha’, except the lube oil within the engine itself, which is considered safe at this stage. The oil removal and salvage efforts have been hampered by the site being only accessible at low tide and continued high seas which means vehicle access has only been safe for approximately 45 minutes either side of low tide.
“Until we got oil transfer pumps to the vessel last night, we could not confirm how much oil was on board. The amount recovered was minimal, but the removal of the oils from the vessel makes salvage lower risk,” he said.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is responsible for oil spill response within the coastal marine boundary under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 and the is working with the salvor to remove the wreck under the Resource Management Act 1991.
The salvor is expected to remove Geisha on Thursday morning. |