Asia/Pacific News
Marine Fuel Spill at Australian Port
A marine fuel spill on Australia's Casuarina Beach in Darwin Tuesday is being cleaned up by Australian and American environmental specialists, local media reports.
About 15 cubic metres is said to have been removed from the beach, and is expected to be cleaned and replaced.
While it was not known what caused the spill, sand quality testing reportedly found a contaminated area of 20 metres long and 10 metres wide.
The spill is said to have occurred during an amphibious offload as a part of local military exercise.
Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the marines were said to have been notified of the spill and responded by contacting "all appropriate government agencies".
"The ADF's environmental team took immediate steps to cordon the area and began to assess the extent of the incident," said an ADF spokeman.
Last year, an environmental group was fined after one of its ships spilled up to 500 litres of diesel into the Trinity Inlet in Cairns, Australia.
