Nassau, The Bahamas – Sun Oil takes swift action to contain and remediate diesel fuel release at Exuma marina and commits to full cooperation to prevent future incidents.
Sun Oil confirms that on Monday, August 20th at 9:30am, operators of The Marina at Emerald Bay notified the Exuma office about a diesel release. Following an initial assessment and joint containment efforts by Sun Oil and Emerald Bay personnel, an emergency response team from Nassau was dispatched to Exuma to provide additional resources and support to manage the incident. Clinton Rolle, Sun Oil’s Deputy General Manager explains, “Swift action along with favorable wind and tidal patterns contained the release to a confined area within the marina. Containment, in conjunction with the immediate dispatch of our emergency management team allowed us to quickly remediate the situation to minimize environmental impact.” Rolle added, “We were able to successfully recover the fuel from the water by Tuesday, August 21 and then complete the final remediation process on the evening of Wednesday, August 22.”
An initial investigation by Sun Oil and regulatory agencies on the scene, which included the Port Department, confirmed that the fuel leak was pipeline related. Rolle said, “We want to assure the Bahamian community and especially residents of Exuma, that our commitment to safe, environmentally-friendly fueling operations is strong.” He added, “The pipelines installed at the site are double-walled, consistent with industry best practice and the lines are pressure tested annually, a process witnessed by government authorities to confirm their on-going integrity.” There were no identified pipeline problems at the Exuma facility during the testing that occurred in May 2018.
Rolle says, “Sun Oil will continue to provide our full cooperation to the authorities and will ensure that the findings from this incident are used to prevent a recurrence.”
