An oil spill in a major urban waterway in northern Tasmania has reignited debate about river management and removing "derelict" debris.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said the "likely source" of the spill in Launceston's Tamar River was the rusting wreck of the tugboat "Cape Bruny" — a boat that has angered locals for years and sparked court action.
The EPA set up a boom around the tug and the nearby Harry O'May ferry on Tuesday to contain the spread, but was unable to determine exactly how much oil had leached into the estuary.
"Potential environmental impacts associated with pollution events such as oil spills could include reduced water quality and oiled wildlife impacts," an EPA spokesperson said.
The origin of the spill was contested by Warren Dick, son of the late shipping entrepreneur Les Dick, who once owned and planned to restore the historic vessels.
Warren said the vessels had been "de-bunkered" — removing the fuel from the boats — years ago and suspected the contamination may have been caused by a nearby sewerage pipe.
The ABC has not been able to determine who the current owner or owners of the vessels are.
Abandoned ships 'pose a genuine risk' to the river
BirdLife Tasmania convenor Eric Woehler said with the number of derelict ships in the Tamar River, an incident was bound to happen.
Dr Woehler said there needed to be greater action to prevent people abandoning vessels.
"We need to be very clear that these vessels, as we have seen with this spill, pose a genuine risk to the health and integrity of the Tamar estuary, and they really need to be removed as quickly as possible," he said.
Launceston-based waterfront developer Errol Stewart said removing vessels was an onerous task but no one body was taking responsibility.
"There needs to be an authority that's got some clout," he said.
"At the moment there's nobody really in charge of the river and the mud builds up, ships are abandoned, and nobody cares.
"So until the government gets on top of that, that's exactly what you're going to get."
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said responsibility for dealing with the spill resided with the EPA and was beyond council authority.
"From a council point of view, we think it is disappointing and we want to see the river cleaned up as best we can," he said.
Cr van Zetten said boats in good condition were enjoyed by the community, but those posing an environmental risk should be moved on.
Clean-up effort continues
The EPA said it was responsible for "dealing with the pollution response and proactively managing any environmental risk".
"These vessels are abandoned wrecks. The ownership of the vessels is not the responsibility of the EPA," a spokesperson said.
While the Launceston council does not have responsibility for the waterway, the state of the Tamar — including dredging — has long been a high-profile issue for residents and councillors.
Cr van Zetten said the Tamar had been talked about ever since he joined the council almost two decades ago.
"It's something that we need to start to come to grips with a lot better as our community," he said.
