Ship Hazmat incident at Newcastle
Published: 11th July 2007
Firefighters from Newcastle and surrounding areas were involved in preventing a potential disaster after hydraulic fluid from a crane on board a ship leaked into a hull that contained around 350 bags of ammonium nitrate weighing 1.2 tonnes each. Fire crews worked closely with the NSWFB scientific advisor, Hazmat specialists, personnel from the shipping company and the Port Authority to unload the bags that had been covered with fluid. Each bag had to be cleaned and inspected to verify that no hydraulic fluid had penetrated either of the two bags that sealed the product before being placed on a truck for removal. The incident was concluded in the afternoon with no reports of any injuries.