Fuel spiller stopped from
leaving, enquiry pending
SIMPSON BAY--A catamaran that spilled a copious amount of fuel into Simpson Bay Lagoon Saturday has led to a renewed call by environmental groups for more trained marine personnel to monitor lagoon traffic so vessels can be held accountable for any damage to the environment.
The vessel Grace, sailing with US and French flags, was prevented from leaving the island by the Coast Guard, pending an investigation.
The spill, caused by Grace at the Island Water World (IWW) fuelling station, was spotted by representatives of four environmental groups touring the lagoon Saturday. Due to the vessel’s fuel tanks being left unattended, “a significant amount” of fuel had poured into the lagoon from Grace.
Through enquiries, Ocean Care, Caribbean Foundation for Sustainability (CFS), Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and St. Maarten Pride learnt from IWW that the spill had occurred earlier and attempts had been made to clean up the oil.
The groups informed the Coast Guard of the spill and Grace was prevented from leaving the lagoon and ordered to drop anchor until the incident was investigated.
The Coast Guard was commended by the groups for acting “quickly and efficiently.”
In a press statement, the groups said this incident emphasised the need for captains to use caution when taking on fuel, and for trained marina staff to be present during fuelling. Also, they suggested that the fuelling station train its staff, have cleanup equipment and use automatic/back-pressure shut-off nozzles, and the use of fuel/air separators on air vents, vent guards, and tank stems of inboard fuel tanks.
