3 May 2012

Sanford Limited incident results in oil spill in Timaru

Sanford Limited had an incident yesterday with one of its deep sea fishing vessels, the San Enterprise, located in the Port of Timaru, resulting in fuel entering the Timaru harbour area.

While the exact amount of fuel that entered the harbour area is yet to be determined, the spill has initiated a clean up response involving Environment Canterbury, Sanford's oil spill response team and other local resources.

While the cause of the failure is yet to be determined, early indications point to an internal pipe component in the vessel failing, causing fuel to make its way into a non-fuel-related internal tank and then overboard. No further spillage has occurred from the vessel.

The spill is contained with the operation in clean-up mode.

Sanford local staff is working closely with the Environment Canterbury on-scene commander to manage the incident. This incident is extremely regrettable and Sanford has fully committed its local resources to the clean up operation.

ENDS

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