Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
A strong hydrocarbon odour on Friday afternoon was the first sign that something was wrong in Bayshore, Marabella.
Within hours, 57 residents — including babies — were forced to evacuate their homes for their safety after a ruptured Heritage Petroleum line caused an oil spill in the community.
Natalie Mohammed, one of the affected residents, yesterday described it as a horrifying experience, especially for families with young children.
“It was a horrifying situation. No, I did not have to evacuate but my niece had to leave with her two babies — one is nine months old, and the other is two years,” she said.
The residents were taken to the Royal Hotel for temporary accommodation.
However, Ali Mohammed said while the hotel accommodation was decent, he and his wife would not be returning after being told they would only receive breakfast.
Fishermen were also worried about their livelihoods.
“We can’t go out with that oil line. The boat gets messed up and you can’t catch fish — you have to throw it away,” said fisherman Satrohan Pulchan.
Several residents told Guardian Media that they were happy with the prompt response by the authorities.
An ambulance with a doctor was on site to examine and treat residents who felt ill.
Meanwhile, Heritage Petroleum yesterday confirmed that the leak came from a ruptured 12-inch trunk pipeline along the Solomon Hochoy Highway near Tarouba on Friday morning.
While the leak has since been clamped, gallons of oil seeped into the river course, but the company said containment booms were deployed and there is no sign of oil affecting the marine environment. As a precautionary measure, however, the company stated that community issues continue to be assessed and addressed.
Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, who visited the affected area yesterday, told reporters there were no reports of significant illness among residents. He said three main contractors were on site and they are aiming at completing the clean-up exercise by tomorrow, once the weather permits.
“The issues here in the coming days will entail a proper, complete clean-up and look at the damage that has been done. Clearly, it is a mangrove area so there are issues with fisheries and livelihoods and so on and also issues with the environment,” Moonilal said.
Moonilal identified ageing infrastructure as the cause of the ruptured line, saying that a lot of Heritage’s infrastructure has to be replaced because “what happened on Friday could happen any day again given the integrity of the assets that on the ground all over the country, not just the Marabella area.”
Once instruments of appointment are issued to the new board and chairman of Heritage, as well as other energy companies, he said among their priorities will be to implement a programme to assess and replace assets.
Moonilal said his administration inherited this issue and had there been some type of attempt to replace infrastructure, this calamity could have been avoided.
However, Moonilal said he has asked Minister Ernesto Kesar to take lead on this matter by working with Heritage to ensure it comes to a resolution quickly with very little discomfort to residents.
He said Heritage has provided security to safeguard residents’ properties in their absence and assured they will address claims for compensation.
The ministers and other officials also met with residents at the hotel. Meanwhile, councillor John Michael Alibocas said 100 food hampers will be distributed to residents in the community. Other officials, including San Fernando West MP Dr Michael Dowlath and Claxton Bay MP Hansen Narinesingh, were also on-site yesterday speaking with residents and Heritage officials.