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Laura d'Amato

Name
Laura d'Amato
Accident date
03/08/1999
Location
Australia
Accident area
Gore Bay, Sydney Harbour
Spill area
Port/harbour
Cause of spill
Loading/Unloading
Nature of pollutant
Light Crude Oil
Quantity spilled
250 tonnes
Ship / structure type
Oil tanker
Length
241.8 m
Width
42 m
Flag
Italian

On the night of 3 August 1999, the Italian oil tanker Laura d’Amato spilled around 250 tonnes of light crude oil in Sydney Harbour due to two valves accidentally being left open after an unloading operation in the Shell terminal that day.

A large part of the residential sea front was affected by vapours, disturbing the nearby populations, including all the patients in a hospital, who had to be evacuated.

The Sydney Ports Corporation reacted quickly by surrounding the boat with booms to contain the oil. Six vessels were mobilised by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), as well as several dozen skimmers and nearly 300 people forming an intervention squad which was active around the clock from Monday to Friday. Regular overflights surveyed the area and the dissipation of the pollutants.

The Laura d’Amato left Sydney Harbour after paying a bank guarantee of nearly 5 million Euros.

Almost 130 tonnes of oil were recovered during response operations, in part thanks to favourable winds containing all the oil near the coast. The rest of the oil is thought to have evaporated or dispersed naturally.

In March 2000, the court sentenced the Italian company Fratelli d’Amato and the commanding officer to a fine of 510,000 Dollars and 110,000 Dollars respectively. .

Last update on 26/03/2008

See also

Donges refinery, Date : 16/03/2008, Location : France

Trans-Alaska pipeline, Date : 04/10/2001, Location : USA

External links

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Investigation report

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Investigation report

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