19 Apr Poole Harbour Commissioners – Press Release no.10 – 19 April 2023
Good progress has continued with the Clean-Up operation since the Perenco Oil Spill on 26th March.
Focus is centred around the site of the leak in Ower Bay and a Recovery Co-ordinating Group has been set up to oversee the remediation of the affected area. Floating booms remain in place to ensure that oil does not escape in to the wider harbour. There have been no reports of any oil outside of Poole Harbour and no reports of oil outside of the contaminated site in Ower Bay since 3rd April.
So far over 300 bags of oil and contaminated materials have been collected from the beaches as well as 417,000 litres of oil and oily water collected to tankers from Ower Bay. The Clean-Up and remediation operation will continue at Ower Bay until the contaimination has been fully dealt with.
Poole Harbour Commissioners are the lead organisation in the Clean Up operation, the operation has gone extremely well and we would like to thank all of the agencies and organisations that have assisted with the operation thus far.
Perenco contact details for insurance claims: uk.wytchfarm.claims@uk.perenco.com.
Should anyone see oil on the water, sightings should be reported to Harbour Control on 01202 440 230 or via pooleharbourcommissioners@phc.co.uk
Shellfish harvested from Poole Harbour from Sunday 26th March onwards should not be relayed or marketed. This advice regarding shellfish remains unchanged, due to the difference in metabolism between fish and shellfish.
BCP Council and Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (SIFCA) continue to assist CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) to carry out sampling of shellfish from the aquaculture grounds in Poole Harbour and are awaiting the results of this testing and further assessment by the FSA, to inform the position regarding shellfish.
The latest updates will be posted on the SIFCA website: https://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/
Further Frequently Asked Questions are available to view on the Poole Harbour Commissioners website: www.phc.co.uk/oil-spill-frequently-asked-questions-faqs/
Jim Stewart, CEO Poole Harbour Commissioners