CAY BAY— GEBE is taking the necessary measures to prevent future oil spills. MH-Maintenance has been contracted and is currently executing the laying of boulders for an oil boom fixation as well as containment walls. These infrastructural works should be completed by the end of April, including the deployment of the oil containment boom.Two isolating valves for clean water discharges are being installed which would allow for the immediate closure of the drains in the event of overloading of the waste management system. The installation is also expected to be completed by the end of April. Both of the aforementioned measures were already planned prior to the first oil spill that took place a few months ago.
An extensive investigation was carried out into the oil spillage on April 2, concluding that the spill was a result of the Waste Management System overflowing resulting in a certain amount of waste oil escaping into the environment. At 2.45am on April 2, power plant personnel discovered the overflow of oil from the Waste Management System. Unfortunately, a certain amount of oil had already drained into the sea. Plant personnel activated immediate clean-up measures of the yard and to recover the spilled oil. At day break, additional human resources were brought in to continue with the clean-up activities.
Following the incident, additional training was arranged with the fabricator of the comprehensive Waste Management System CINED to provide three-days of refreshment training courses on site at the GEBE Power Plant in Cay Bay. The training sessions are scheduled for late April and early May for all personnel who work at the power generating facility.
GEBE is very much aware of its social and environmental responsibility towards the community that it provides essential services to and will make the necessary investments in line with the highest environmental standards. GEBE deeply regrets this incident and is taking every measure to prevent this from happening again. GEBE is confident that the additional measures being taken will resolve this challenge and prevent future accidents from occurring.