MOBIL and a shipping company have been convicted and fined for a Williamstown oil spill.
Last week, the Environment Protection Agency issued a statement which said
Mobil Refining Australia and Teekay Navion Offshore Loading have been found guilty after a 2009 oil spill at the Gellibrand Terminal.
The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court has ordered Mobil to pay $150,000 to the Port Phillip EcoCentre for the Bay Care Action and Awareness Project – plus EPA court costs of $135,000.
Magistrate Angela Bolger found Mobil guilty of causing an environmental hazard on 21 August 2009.
The oil spill occurred after high winds caused a ship’s loading arm to fracture and spill oil into the ocean, causing a six-day clean-up operation.
In a separate hearing on 30 April this year, the ship’s owner Teekay Navion Offshore Loading was ordered to pay $100,000 towards an environmental project and $100,000 in costs to EPA.
After the oil spill, around 180kg of liquid crude oil was recovered from the sea near Gellibrand Pier and more oil washed ashore near the St Kilda penguin colony.
The EPA CEO John Merritt said large penalties could be enforced when companies failed to take their environmental responsibilities seriously.
“EPA takes all circumstances involving the discharge of oil very seriously,” Mr Merritt said.
“Oil pollution can have severe repercussions to Victoria’s coastline and waterways. It is fortunate the spill was relatively small.”
