Chemical leak onboard arriving ship at Port of Tauranga, two fires crews on scene

Chemical leak onboard the container ship Spirit of Auckland at Port of Tauranga. Photo / File

Two fire appliances are at the Port of Tauranga after an arriving container ship had a chemical leak from one of its containers on board.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said two fire crews from Tauranga and Greerton stations were called to the Port of Tauranga at 3.23 pm to investigate a possible chemical leak.

Port of Tauranga communication manager Rochelle Lockley said the chemical leak happened onboard the container ship Spirit of Auckland before it arrived from Panama this afternoon.

Lockley said the leak was from a valve on one of the containers and the ship's crew fixed the leak and contained the solvent spill onboard the ship.

The leak was reported to the Port of Tauranga Authority a few days ago before the ship's arrival in Tauranga.

The two fire crews were on hand as a precaution measure until it was deemed safe for the port stevedores to begin unloading the containers, she said.

However, Lockley said the particular container that leaked would not be unloaded as it was destined for Sydney which was where the ship was headed next.

She said no one was injured as a result of the spillage.