Far North marine jewel saved from oil slick

A pristine Far North marine environment was saved from a possible oil spill during the weekend when wind and sea conditions combined to drive away a mile-long contaminated oil and bilge water slick floating off Tom Bowling Bay.

The slick, covering a nautical mile and between 60m and 100m wide, was reported by a fishing boat via coastguard early on Saturday.

At least three southbound vessels - two container ships and a dredge - were seen in the area on Saturday.

Maritime Safety Authority officials will visit each vessel as they arrive at their next ports to look at pumping records, and times and positions from ships' logs to try to determine which, if any, of the three vessels might have been responsible for the discharge.