Mount Maunganui oil spill: More slick on water at Pilot Bay

An oil slick at Salisbury Wharf, Mount Maunganui on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / John Borren

Visitors to Mount Maunganui on Tuesday morning are reporting oil floating on the water around Salisbury Wharf.

“The smell is quite strong,” a SunLive reader said. “It reeks.”

Members of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Maritime and Compliance teams were back on site this morning in Pilot Bay.

“Unfortunately their mid-morning check revealed new signs of oil and/or diesel at the southern end of Waikorire Pilot Bay,” duty regional on-scene commander John Morris, said.

Oil booms in the water next to Salisbury Wharf, Mount Maunganui on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / John Borren

“The team is currently on the water looking to understand if this is part of the same event as yesterday or a new one.”

Maritime teams responded to a diesel and oil spill in Tauranga Harbour on Monday after council staff received several calls about oil on the water north of Sulphur Point and around Waikorire Pilot Bay.

Initial estimates were that there was less than 100L of diesel and the public was asked to stay away from the area, particularly around Pilot Bay where the beach had been coned off by council staff.

An oil slick at Salisbury Wharf, Mount Maunganui around 10am on Tuesday morning. Photo / Gordon Milburn.

Staff were not able to identify the source of the spill on Monday.

“We are investigating several potential sources,” Morris said.

He said on Tuesday there appeared to be a similar volume of oil and/or diesel to Monday’s event.

Oil on the beach on Monday. Photo / Bay of Plenty Regional Council

“This slick was not visible when the team carried out their first beach assessment at Waikorire/Pilot Bay first-thing this morning.”

Members of the regional council’s maritime team were seen checking the foreshore in Pilot Bay around 9am on Tuesday.

“There’s a bit of rubbish,” one of the team said while checking through the beach sand and debris.

A maritime team from Bay of Plenty Regional Council conducting a beach foreshore check for oil on Tuesday morning. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford

A SunLive reporter at the foreshore around 9am said there did not appear to be any oil along the beach at that time.

Morris also said the earlier assessment showed no evidence of oil or diesel on the beach.

“But a minor amount was sighted by the stone jetty on the northern end of Waikorire Pilot Bay,” Morris said.

A maritime team from Bay of Plenty Regional Council conducting a beach foreshore check for oil on Tuesday morning. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford

Morris said the waste from Monday’s clean-up will be disposed of today.

The source of the oil was still unknown.

“We are committed to a thorough investigation.

“We have collected samples to assist in identifying the source if one is found.”

- SunLive