Update on vessel incident

Further to the incident involving a barge being towed from Henderson to Bunbury.

Sections of the broken barge have now been located off Garden Island and efforts are now underway to return these to the Henderson shipyards this evening.

This news follows earlier reports that the barge being towed by the tug ‘Quenda’ broke into pieces overnight, transiting between Henderson and Bunbury.  No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) SAR jet this afternoon located the missing sections of the barge just west of Garden Island.  This followed efforts by DoT, the barge owner, Southern Ports Authority, AMSA and WA Police to locate the missing barge pieces.

Members of the public are encouraged to notify DoT’s Marine Pollution hotline if they see any evidence of marine pollution as a result of the incident.

DoT’s Marine Pollution hotline number is (08) 9480 9924 (24 hours) or people can email marine.pollution@transport.wa.gov.au
 
A navigational warning to mariners has been issued by DoT and recreational vessel skippers are cautioned to avoid the area between Bunbury and Mandurah until the recovery process is complete.

Media contact: Angelika Fawcett 0413 557 887