By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The port authorities have placed containment booms around a sunken vessel at Potter’s Cay dock to contain any potential oil spill as they wait on its owner to remove it.

Frederick Rogers, assistant port controller, said the booms were placed by the Port Department to contain any potential oil pollution or environmental damage. While the timeline for the vessel’s removal is unclear, the owner is said to be “making preparations to move it”, although it is of sufficient size that it must be either hoisted out of the water or cut in smaller pieces.

“That vessel, we put the boom around it just in case of any oil spill. It would be contained in that in that area,” Mr Rogers said. “The owner is making preparations to move it; we don’t have a timing on that as yet. It will be very shortly. I spoke to [the owner] no later than today.

“That’s not a quick fix, that’s not a small vessel. It has to be moved. It has to be either lifted or cut into pieces before it’s removed it. With the size it can’t just be moved like that; it’s a process. All efforts that could be done are being done.”

He added that multiple agencies, including the Department of Environment Planning and Protection (DEPP), will be involved in the removal which must be done correctly to ensure there is no damage to the sea bed.

“It’s multiple agencies involved. It isn’t a matter like when a car breaks down and you call the wrecker to move it..it’s multiple agencies that would be involved,” Mr Rogers said. “There’s some procedure that it has to go through because we can’t just take that and drag that out because it would also damage the sea bed. There’s a lot of things involved that doesn’t meet the eye.”

When pressed if the owner of the vessel is facing fines related to the wreck and potential oil spill, he added: “Not at this time.” Dr Rhianna Neely, DEPP director, said that the department had not received any reports of the vessel but it works with the Port Department on many matters.

Tribune Business understands that the vessel’s owner operates several commercial vessels throughout the Family Islands. This is said to be the second large vessel they own that has broken down and sunk at Potter’s Cay, with the first sitting for years before being removed.

Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, executive director at the Bahamas Reef, Environment and Educational Foundation (BREEF), said any oil leak can damage the environment and health of people that eat seafood caught from the waters near Potter’s Cay. She added that the booms are insufficient, as any fuel should be properly removed and disposed of, with the cost borne by those responsible.

“Any petroleum product in the water is really not good news and it has a risk of damage to the environment and also a risk to human health,” Ms McKinney-Lambert said. “I see some booms there, but that oil needs to be removed and disposed of properly.”