East Grand Bahama Member of Parliament Peter Turnquest said Equinor has declared the oil spill area safe, as recovery efforts are in full swing and a cleanup has been team dispatched. 

Aerial footage has been released and according to Minister of the Environment and Housing Romauld Ferreria, it shows that the berms system is containing the oil within a certain perimeter.  

“As I said in the first instance, the rooves blew off, so you had oil that was wind driven, so you have a large smear and that is challenging in and of itself to clean up,” he said.

“The first priority is to stabilize the location, stabilize the source, prevent any kind of further escape and then move out from there.”   

Equinor has engaged both local and international experts to assist in the cleanup as soon as possible.

Mr. Turnquest said the company has already pointed out that there’s no spill on the south and north shore of the island. 

“They are also testing for water contamination, as well as air contamination and so far they have been doing a decent job as the untrained eye would have seen,” the deputy prime minister said.

“They are being responsive and providing information certainly to the government, to the BEST Commission, to the Ministry of Environment, but also to me as the member of parliament.” 

The cost of the cleanup has not yet been determined.  

The massive oil spill occurred during the passage of Hurricane Dorian.