Poole Harbour may take months to recover from oil spill - port authority

It may take months to return some areas of Poole Harbour to their original state following an oil spill, the boss of the authority regulating it said.

About 200 barrels of oily water escaped from a pipeline operated by Perenco on 26 March.

Jim Stewart, of Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC), said Ower Bay, where the leak took place, continued to be the "key area" of contamination.

The public have been urged to avoid using the harbour.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Stewart, who was appointed the chief executive in 2002, said he had dealt with "minor pollution events" at the harbour before, "but nothing on this scale".

He said: "We were very distressed when we heard that the leak had taken place."

He added that while the leak "turned out to be not quite as serious as we initially thought", the harbour was an "incredibly sensitive site from an environmental perspective, so it is of concern".

PHC is currently working with Natural England, the EA and other organisations to investigate the environmental impacts.

"We will then come up with a remediation plan to understand the best way to get Poole Harbour back to where it was prior to the leak," Mr Stewart explained.

He said that would take "several months certainly… probably longer than that".

But he also said previously contaminated sites at Goathorn and Arne peninsulas were now free of oil.

Thirteen booms have been put in place to pen in the oil so that machinery can suck it up and transfer it to nearby tanks.

PHC said 30 "slightly oiled" birds had now been spotted but added there had been no serious casualties.

The RSPB previously reported 15 birds with oil smudges had been spotted in the bay the day after the leak, including black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, shelduck and mute swans.

Wildlife groups have warned about the long-term impact on the environment.

Shellfish producers in and around the harbour have also been advised to halt sales because of possible contamination from oil.

The leak came from Wytch Farm, an oil field and processing facility that produces about 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Perenco has set up an email address - [email protected] - for people affected by the spill to submit claims.

On Wednesday, environment minister Lord Benyon told the House of Lords the government would ensure the firm paid for the damage caused.

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