Chairman of Oistins Bay Garden Inc. Kemar Harris is hopeful that the cleanup of an oil spill in the busy Christ Church town will be completed in time for the weekly Friday night lime.
Some businesses in the area are closed “until further notice” while the operation is in progress, but Government officials are expected to give an update around noon.
Members of the public are being advised to avoid the area as there is a very strong smell of oil. Caution tape has been put in place.
Ironically, it was operators at the Bay Garden facility, home of the popular Oistins fish fry, who smelt the fumes from the oil and alerted officials. Friday is the busiest day of the week for those vendors. At a media conference this morning, Harris said the incident occurred around 1:20 a.m.
“We had smelled the strong fumes and when we looked over here we saw the oil was running over. Immediately I asked my staff to get sand – very demanding – so that we would be able to stop the oil from going to the main road and also to the beach and I called every person that I know who could get up, who couldn’t get up, just to come to get the situation contained,” he said.
“Today, persons would know that Oistins is a very busy day for the vendors and the businesses, nevertheless this is a mishap and these things happen on life’s journeys.
“We are hoping that we can get it rectified in a quick manner that the second most interesting place in Barbados, Oistins, will be active by tonight, in the name of the Lord.”
This drain, which leads from the Barbados National Energy Company Ltd facility in Oistins, was contaminated with oil. (Picture by Maria Bradshaw)
Meanwhile, Group Health and Safety Manager at Barbados National Energy Company Ltd (BNECL), Damien Catlyn, said they have a pumping facility just north of the Bay Garden and were in the process of exporting crude oil to a tanker anchored in Oistins Bay.
“At that point we would have mobilised our rapid response team and with, as we have said earlier, great assistance from the personnel from the Bay Gardens, the general public in the area.
“They would have started putting on the berms that you see behind me and the sand berm which contained the oil spill that was coming from the pumping facility before it entered the main road, and . . . with great assistance from the Bay Garden personnel as well, firmed up the marine outfall so that we have to date no oil has entered the marine environment,” he said.
Giving an explanation of the process, he said the spill was contained, the pump was isolated and no more oil is coming from the facility.
“We are currently recovering the oil that is on the ground and in the marine outfall. And after that oil is recovered we would then move to the cleanup phase in which case we would then start to wash down the drains and clean the parking lot.”
He said they hoped to reopen Oistins to the public “later this evening”.
Several Government ministers were on site, including Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, Senior Minister Dr William Duguid, Minister of the Environment Adrian Forde, Minister of Energy Senator Lisa Cummins and Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, Minister with responsibility for culture and the candidate for Christ Church South, in which the area is located.
They lauded the Bay Garden operators for their quick action and use of the sand berm to prevent the oil entering the marine space. Forde said the Environmental Protection Division was on site, following the protocols to protect both the land and sea.
The road was closed at the bottom of Oistins Hill and the y-junction which leads to Silver Sands and Thornbury Hill.
The natural gas supply in the area was closed as a safety precaution and buses were being diverted. (SAT)
Acting assistant commissioner David Welch, who was in charge of the operation in Oistins, speaking with a Transport Board driver about the diversion of Traffic. (Picture by Maria Bradshaw)
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