Oil Slick Glebe Island

Date: 11 October 2001

Flag of Convenience ship pollutes Sydney Harbour

A foreign flag of convenience vessel has caused an oil spill at Glebe Island in Sydney. The clean up and containment operation was still under way at 5pm this afternoon.

The 2887 tonne Tongan flagged dry cargo ship Tavake Oma, built in 1984, reportedly developed a crack in a pipe between its ballast and fuel oil tanks in the early hours of the morning, leaking oil into the bay. The ship, registered to Cadem Shipping, is managed by Intercontinental Shipping.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) inspectors have been on board the vessel in Melbourne and Wallaroo in May and April this year reporting nine deficiencies. The Tavake Oma was also subject to an inspection in Auckland last year, with seven deficiencies recorded according to Port State Control shipping data.

Flag of Convenience vessels are owned in one country and registered in tax havens like Tonga and Panama to avoid international safety and labour regulations. The Maritime Union has been campaigning for tighter checks and restrictions on such ships trading on our coast, with ongoing 'oily surfer' demonstrations at Australian beaches and surfing venues. A billboard promoting the campaign will be on display at Bondi Junction Station on Monday with beach events the following weekend.

While the spill is minor compared to that of the Laura d'Amato oil spill in 1999, this latest incident is another example of the dangers of Federal Government policy of deregulating our coast.

CONTACT: MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin 9267 9134 or mobile 0418 379 660

For further information

Contact:	Zoe Reynolds
Union:	Maritime Union of Australia
Phone:	0417 229873
WWW:	http://mua.tcp.net.au/

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