WILGA

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Trapped tug pulled out of containment area

It will take six weeks to refloat and remove the two tugs 'York Cove' and 'Campbell Cove' at the Devonport wharf, which were sunk by the cement carrier 'Goliath' on Jan 28, 2022. Salvage crews planned to release a third tug, the 'Wilga', which was trapped insode the oil spill area by opening the containment boom but not letting any oil escape. The work started when the tide allowed on Jan 31 to slowly open the containment boom and remove the 'Wilga' from the containment area which had narrowly avoided the incident. TasPorts teams had deployed oil spill response equipment within 45 minutes of the crash, which captured the 'Wilga' in the containment area. A plan was developed under the guidance and direction of the EPA to enable the tug's extraction, whilst minimising impact to the port and potential oil dispersal which saw the 'Wilga' towed from the containment area as a 'dead ship' by the tug 'Watagan' from the Port of Burnie. Report with photo: https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7601798/removal-of-tugboats-a-slow-process/