Specialist Hazmat crews on scene at Swanson Dock

4pm: 

The ship’s crew removed the surrounding containers and unloaded the impacted container. 

Following transportation to a quarantine area on the Dock, FRV HAZMAT specialists with breathing apparatus and monitoring equipment, together with a crew, assessed the environment for contaminates and opened the container.

 The contents of the container were found to be a non-hazardous product.       

The scene was declared safe 3.40PM. 

3pm: FRV crews are now removing the liquid from the container.

1.40pm: At 11am, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) responded to an incident at Swanson Dock, West Melbourne following reports from a commercial vessel that a container on board was leaking a potentially hazardous liquid. 

The vessel’s crew reported that the leak was confined to the interior of the container and the surrounding deck of the ship and was not leaking hazardous material into the sea. 

Six fire trucks, including FRV’s HAZMAT unit, have been deployed to the scene, along with more than 35 FRV firefighters, specialist hazmat responders and scientific advisors. 

FRV HAZMAT specialists have since boarded the vessel to conduct a risk assessment of the scene and test the liquid’s hazards.