First oil clean up successful: AMSA

The first clean-up of an oil slick around a rig off Australia's northwest coast has
been successful, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says.

A Hercules military transport aircraft flew over the eight-kilometre-long,
30-metre-wide slick on Sunday morning to drop a chemical aimed at cleaning up the
oil spill.
AMSA spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins said that while they could not measure exactly how
much oil had been cleaned up, it was now "a much shorter slick".
"The application of dispersant this morning appears to be have been successful," Ms
Jiggins told AAP.
"We've been able to visually see the oil dispersing into the water, which is very
positive."
Ms Jiggins said the Hercules was expected to land in Darwin about 12.30pm (WST),
refuel and head back out there.
She said while she could not estimate how much the clean-up would cost, "it would be
very expensive" and would continue to rise until the leak was stemmed.
"The imperative now is that the leak is stopped," Ms Jiggins said on Sunday.
"The company has given us a written undertaking that they will pay for any cost of
the clean-up.
"It's impossible to gauge at this stage, but it will run into the millions."
Meanwhile, Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says the spill doesn't pose
any risk to the mainland.
Mr Ferguson says the spill is not as big as first thought and the international
experts are working out how to cap the well responsible as quickly as possible.
"There's no threat to the Australian coast," he told Network Ten.
The Greens have expressed concern over the clean-up operation.
West Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert also called for more information on
what caused the spill.
But she said before there was any more development of the resource-rich area, an
emergency response unit needed to be moved closer to the Kimberley coast.
"We're concerned because the process has highlighted some very significant loopholes
in our response time, given that it has taken so long to scramble a plane to clean
up the spill," Senator Siewert told reporters on Sunday.
"Before any further development is undertaken closer to the Kimberley coast, we need
to ensure that emergency response teams are situated closer than Victoria or the WA
wheatbelt.
"This instance has shown that the increased response time could potentially result
in further environmental damage."
Senator Siewert said she was disappointed PTTEP Australasia and Resources Minister
Martin Ferguson had played down the environmental impact of the spill.
She said the company should also agree to pay for any ongoing environmental problems.
"There are species that migrate through that area, like baby turtles and whales, so
we need to be looking at ongoing monitoring of the environmental impact," she said.
"Besides paying for the clean-up, the company needs to establish a fund so that
long-term monitoring can take place and to repair any environmental damage."