Warning for mariners as ghost rig lights goes out
A month after administrators were called in, the Cliff Head oil platform prompts a safety warning from the Maritime Union of Australia.
The Maritime Union of Australia has warned mariners of a navigation hazard following the shutdown of Cliff Head oil platform lights. The platform, located 11 kilometres off the coast of Dongara in Western Australia, had been a vital navigation aid for over a decade. However, after junior oil and gas companies Pilot and Triangle Energy went into voluntary administration in July, leaving the $200 million clean-up bill unresolved, the platform's lights were turned off.
Marine Safety WA has advised mariners to be aware of the 500 metre exclusion zone around the site and to consult navigation warnings. The union's assistant national secretary, Thomas Mayo, emphasized the extreme danger posed by unlit infrastructure at sea, stating that it is extremely dangerous to have a facility out there unlit.
The decommissioning process and responsibility for the clean-up have been unclear since the platform's future became uncertain. While the federal resources minister, Madeline King, stated that the taxpayer will not be responsible for the cost, Mayo called for greater action, suggesting that oil and gas companies should be held accountable for their obligations to decommission and clean up abandoned platforms.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority is working to address the hazard by deploying navigational aids, including lighting, in the interim.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
