New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has promised “punishment” for any boat found responsible for thousands of “tar balls” that closed Sydney beaches this week.
Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches reopened on Friday after they, along with several other eastern suburbs beaches, were blocked after mysterious black spheres were found in the sand. closure. The balls were first discovered on a Coogee beach on Tuesday afternoon.
Randwick City Council said late on Wednesday that preliminary test results had identified the spheres as “tar balls” – formed when oil comes into contact with debris and water, usually as a result of an oil spill or seepage.
Tests showed the debris was a hydrocarbon contaminant – a major component of petroleum products.
Sharp said on Friday that government agencies had not determined the source of the tar balls, but she said they came from an oil spill at sea that had not yet been reported to authorities.
“I’m very concerned that our beautiful beaches are being polluted by something. [and] We still don’t know where it came from,” the minister said.
Sharp said investigators are working to identify the person responsible. “I hope we can do that, and I hope, if we can, that we throw the book out to people who are… involved in this,” she said.
Coogee, Clovelly, Gordon’s Bay and North Maroubra beaches remained closed on Friday.
Randwick City Council Mayor Dylan Parker said at the time that council staff on a motorboat spotted a suspected oil slick at sea on Wednesday morning.
However, the New South Wales Port Authority said it had not received any reports of oil leakage from ships.
The EPA said traces of the balls were also found at Congwong, Frenchmans, Little Bay and Malabar beaches.
“At this stage, the origin and contents of the balls remain a mystery,” the regulator said on Thursday.
“But the EPA is conducting extensive testing on some samples. While we understand preliminary testing by Randwick City Council indicates the presence of hydrocarbons, EPA testing cannot confirm their contents at this stage.
Earlier this week, an expert said the tar balls could have been caused by a ship illegally releasing bilge tanks.