A multimillion-dollar contract to clean up the remains of last year's container spill off the Hunter coast is due to be signed by the end of the year with the intention of commencing the salvage operation early next year.
The contents of 66 containers lost overboard from the YM Efficiency during heavy seas last June are still washing up on Hunter beaches.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is negotiating the contract after the shipping company Yang Ming and its insurers failed to initiate a clean-up a timely and meaningful manner.
An authority spokesman was unable to provide details of the contract or the contractor but confirmed it was close to being finalised.
It will be the first salvage operation of its kind undertaken in Australian waters.
The containers are strewn between Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie. Their contents range from in-tact motor vehicles to thousands of metal and plastic items.
READ MORE:
- Australian Maritime Safety Authority begins tender process for YM Efficiency container salvage operation
- First look at submerged containers lost from Yang Ming's YM Efficiency as underwater search continues
While welcoming news that the clean-up was imminent, Hunter fishermen are concerned it may create new headaches for the industry.
Newcastle Commercial Fishermen's Co-operative general manger Robert Gauta said it was essential that the salvage process did not compound the existing pollution issues.
"It's a complex situation. The health of our environment is the top priority but the safety of our members is a close second," he said.
"This mess needs to be cleaned up properly, not half done where is poses a risk for fishermen for years to come."
Port Stephens MP and shadow environment minister Kate Washington said it was unacceptable that the contents of the container spill were still polluting the region's beaches and posing a risk to the fishing industry.
"For the sake of our local beaches, waterways, marine life and our local fishers, it's time the containers and their contents were removed from the ocean floor once and for all," she said.
"This is industrial-scale littering like we're never seen, and debris will continue to wash ashore as long as the containers remain on the bottom of the ocean. The ship's owners must take responsibility, do the right thing, and clean up its mess."
