HAZMAT incident on ship in Port Melbourne under control

Approximately 27 firefighters to an incident at Webb Dock Drive and Empress Road in Port Melbourne last night.

Published:
Tuesday, 15 June 2021 at 12:55 am

Crews arrived to find unidentified flammable liquid leaking from a shipping container into the hold of the ship and setup a safety perimeter around the dock.

FRV responded fire trucks and a FRV Fire Boat to contain any leak entering Melbourne Port waters.

FRV Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) specialist crews wearing Breathing Apparatus investigated the hold of the ship using gas detectors to determine the threat and extent of the leak.

Crews then worked with Port of Melbourne staff to remove surrounding containers from the ship for better access to the leak. Once removed, the FRV's HAZMAT crew identified the leaking chemical (a flammable industrial adhesive).

The adhesive was removed from the ship along with the container and transported to a safe area. No liquid from the leak entered Port waters. The incident was deemed to be under control at 0:04 AM Tuesday morning.

The Ship was declared safe and handed back to the Captain. Victoria Police was on scene as well as Port of Melbourne representatives.

Ambulance Victoria assisted an injured fire fighter and the EPA and the Department of Transport were notified of the incident.

Updated