Earlier this week, a few of the Council's oil spill response staff responded to a reported diesel spill on the Whanganui River. Its believed the spill came from an unmanned Korean fishing vessel that has been tied up in the port for several years. Given that the 'rainbow sheen' has persisted for several days, we are also suspicious that the product was oil rather than diesel but sampling results have been inconclusive.
The picture attached shows Regional On-Scene Commander Ian Lowe assessing the effectiveness of 'agitation' on breaking up the residue. This was particularly effective and assisted natures natural processes of breaking down the oil. While use of some local boats was considered (including Coastguard) we opted to use the Council's boat. This did not delay the response in any way.
Staff are continuing to monitor the situation and anyone observing oil on the river is encouraged to contact the Council's pollution hotline on 0508-800-800.
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