Firefighters at Mangonui Wharf as the trawler returns to an even keel. Photo / Supplied
Firefighters at Mangonui Wharf as the trawler returns to an even keel. Photo / Supplied
Volunteer firefighters helped avert an environmental crisis when they righted a fishing boat in danger of sinking at Mangonui wharf.
A 300-tonne steel fishing trawler tied up to the wharf struck trouble on Saturday when about 15,000 litres of water entered its engine room. The vessel was listing badly andleaning against the wharf when crew on nearby boats raised the alarm about 11am.
Mangonui acting fire chief Antony Pedersen said the boat, which had been unloaded the night before, was listing at a precarious angle when the brigade arrived.
The volunteers could not pump the engine room water into the harbour because that would have caused serious oil pollution. The vessel's sinking would have also triggered an environmental catastrophe, he said.
Instead, the volunteers pumped the engine-room water into the starboard side ballast tanks until the boat slowly righted itself, which took about two hours.
Northland harbourmaster Jim Lyle said no pollution had resulted because the leak was internal, with water entering the engine room from one of the ballast tanks.
However, an inspection on Sunday had uncovered a number of serious faults on the vessel.
The owner had been ordered to put them right before the boat returned to sea.
