The removal of liquid waste trapped on board the stricken Iron Chieftain, which caught fire while moored at Port Kembla, is under way.
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On June 18, the CSL Australia-owned vessel caught fire as a container load of dolomite was being unloaded at one of the BlueScope berths.
In July, the Environment Protection Authority issued CSL Australia with a clean-up notice that ordered the removal of heavy fuel oils and wastewater left on board after the firefighting effort.
EPA Regional Manager Operations Illawarra Peter Bloem said the removal of the oils took place before CSL dealt with the wastewater.
“The initial focus was on removing the heavy fuel oil that was mostly from the ship’s fuel tanks, which has now been completed,” Mr Bloem said.
“The current focus is on removing approximately eight million litres of firewater from the ship.
“In discussion with EPA, CSL has implemented a staged removal of the liquid wastes.
“The incident resulted in firefighting water, fuel oil and debris from the fire being contained on the ship.
“There has not been any significant impact to the waters of Port Kembla Harbour.”
Mr Bloem said the liquid waste is being placed in road tankers to be transported to an EPA licenced facility in Homebush.
The removal started in late August and is expected to take another month to complete.