Fiji Times Wednesday 27 September 2017 The oil extraction and recovery operation on the MV Southern Phoenix has been completed by salvage company, Ardent, under the close supervision of the Maritime and Safety Authority of Fiji’s (MSAF) pollution team and Fiji Ports Corporation Ltd (FPCL).
A team from Maritime New Zealand also assisted with the process.
The operation was completed on June 1, 2017.
“Although the clean-up and salvaging of oil and chemicals is completed, an MSAF team is present at the site as a precautionary measure to monitor any possible left over oil slick that may be emitted from the wreck.
“If any threat to the environment is detected, MSAF is ready to deploy immediately,” said MSAF chief executive officer John Tunidau.
MSAF is responsible for ensuring harmful substances such as oil and chemicals are removed from derelict ships and not removable of the ships themselves when the ship is within declared port boundaries.
The shipowners are working with FPCL to remove the ship from the Suva Harbour.
