Darwin Harbour oil spill: Port insider says we should have been told about incident

A Darwin Port insider is dismayed there has been no proactive communication from authorities about an oil spill, which he says stretched from Stokes Hill to East Arm wharves, last week. The environmental regulator is involved.

A Darwin Port whistleblower says last Thursday, a massive oil spill occurred in Darwin Harbour, stretching from Stokes Hill Wharf to East Arm Wharf. Picture: File

A Darwin Port insider says a large oil spill last week in the harbour, which he claimed stretched almost from Stokes Hill to East Arm wharves, should have been revealed to the public.

Darwin Port, the agency tasked with responding to maritime incidents in the harbour, confirmed to this masthead there had been a discharge, although its size, origin and duration is unknown at this stage.

According to the insider, the spill occurred on Thursday, October 17.

The oil spill stretched from East Arm Wharf (pictured) to Stokes Hill Wharf, the biggest spill he claims he could remember in the harbour. Picture: Floss Adams

The spill was detected by someone on an upper level of the Evolution on Gardiner apartment tower, who flagged it with Darwin Port, which then dispatched an “emergency spill response” by deploying oil spill booms to contain the leakage, the insider said.

“It made its way from Stokes Hill Wharf right to East Arm Wharf,” he said.

“It spanned over a kilometre.”

The insider described it as the “biggest oil spill that’s happened in Darwin” since he could remember.

He said the matter had been reported to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA) in line with procedures, and officers had been on-site to undertake water sampling.

The source said he was dismayed neither the port, the NTEPA, nor any other authorities had come clean to the public in the five days since the spill.

“I just think the public is entitled to know about this,” he said.

“They’re trying to keep it tight-knit. How do we know it will be investigated fully?

“There’s only about eight people involved. They’re keeping it very close to their chest.”

There is no suggestion Darwin Port or the NTEPA did not respond appropriately to the oil spill.

Darwin Port CEO Peter Dummett said the origins of the spill, and its size, remained unknown.

Darwin Port chief executive Peter Dummett. Picture: Fia Walsh

“The appropriate response was taken, and we’ve advised the appropriate regulators. From what I understand, it’s still under investigation,” he said.

Mr Dummett said it was “possible” the discharge could have been quite small.

“A small amount of substance in the water can spread a long way and can seem a lot more dangerous than it might be,” he said.

Regarding the insider’s claim the spill should have been proactively communicated to the public, Mr Dummett disagreed.

“To be quite open with you, it’s not an irregular occurrence that we go and investigate the possibility of oil spills. Sometimes it can be an algae bloom that some people mistake for an oil slick,” he said.

The NTEPA has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Darwin Harbour oil spill: Port insider says we should have been told about incident