Eline Enterprise

The accident

On the 26th January 2012 (Australia Day), the container ship Eline Enterprise signalled to Darwin Harbour Control that it was in difficulty. A leak of ethylene gas, an extremely flammable product, was reported as a result of containers becoming dislodged in rough seas. Furthermore the vessel had steering problems and risked running aground.

Securing the vessel

The search for a safe anchorage area began. Once a suitable site had been found, technical experts from Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services were contacted to assess the risks generated by the leaking ethylene gas and the other containers aboard. An aerial and marine exclusion zone was established. Firstly, the undamaged containers were removed by Svitzer Salvage and as soon as the potential dangers were under control the vessel was directed to a Toll facility in Frances Bay.

Chemical risks

The damaged containers were placed on a barge at anchor to facilitate controlled venting of the gas (nitrogen purge). They were brought ashore once all the risks for the population and the environment had been eliminated. As is often the case, management of the response was made difficult due to the large number of players: the ship's owner, P&I club, charterer, the owner's of the containers etc. The incident highlights the difficulty in controlling an invisible pollutant (ethylene gas) which poses a strong risk of explosion and the overall complexity of managing pollution risks from chemical products. This, apparently minor, incident finally took a month to be managed, including 10 days of contract negotiations with companies for the cargo recovery operations.