WELLINGTON: Mobil is keeping its promise of paying for the clean-up of an estimated 1500 litres of oil from Tauranga harbour, by paying the first of two payments to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
The council has begun handing over the responsibility of the completion of the final clean-up operations to Mobil Oil New Zealand.
The oil had leaked out of a pipeline during bunkering of a ship at the Mount Maunganui wharf on April 27 and washed up on beaches in the city’s waterways.
The company has paid the council’s first invoice of $421,307.80 and is currently processing the second, worth $270,000.
Andrew McNaught Mobil Oil New Zealand country manager said, “We have taken full responsibility for the incident and we are deeply sorry it occurred.
“We also said we would meet all reasonable costs for cleaning and repair of damage to private property. We have made a number of these payments. In the case of boat cleaning, we are directly paying the boat cleaning company to expedite and make the process easier for everyone.”
To date, 166 claims with a total value of $308,000 have been received, the majority related to impacted boats.
Mobil expects it will be at least three months before the leaking line is operational again and is currently using a separate pipeline to the Oil Tanker Berth.
