Stormy weather in the Bass Strait forced the Anzon-Beach Petroleum JV to stop production last week and sail the Crystal Ocean and Basker Spirit vessels out of the region.

Anzon said it reconnected the two vessels to their moorings yesterday in a bid to restart oil output at the field.

But at 7pm last night, the Basker Spirit broke free from its single point mooring (SPM) and drifted away.

“At the time the SPM parted, the weather conditions were rough, but well below the extreme conditions of the previous week,” the company said.

Anzon said the incident had not caused any injuries or environmental problems, but it was still unsure how badly damaged the SPM was.

“Inspections will be conducted during the day, but it is anticipated that the producing operations will be curtailed for a number of weeks to repair the SPM,” Anzon said.

“A business interruption insurance policy is available to the joint venture.”