Poole Harbour Oil Leak: 'Relief' it's not as bad as could have been

Large orange booms are being placed on the water in Poole Harbour to contain a leak from a pipeline at one of the largest onshore oil fields in Europe.

A 'metallic sheen' can be seen on the surface after around 200 barrels of reservoir fluid leaked from Wytch Farm.

The leak's believed to have happened at around 7.00am yesterday morning (Sunday 26th March).

A helicopter and drones have been flying overhead to assess the extent of the spill.

We're told 85% of it is water - but 15% is oil.

This is the first major incident that's occurred from the oil field, owned by oil and gas company, Perenco, since it opened in 1979.

Poole Harbour Commissioners Chief Executive, Jim Stewart, says it could have been much worse though:

"We're pleasantly surprised that it's not as serious as we initially thought.

"(We're) very relieved. We know the quantity of oil we're dealing with and we're hunting it down."

There's been a 'substantial reduction' of oil visible in the harbour, compared to yesterday - with just two 'clusters' still affected - at Port of Poole Marina, and close to the leak site at Ower Bay, in the south side of the area.

They're being contained at the moment.

There's also 'very little sign of wash-ups' onto beaches.

Philip Broadhead, the leader of BCP Council, is hoping no serious damage has been done:

"We're cautiously optimistic. We've had some reports that some of the oil has already dispersed, and that's what we want to see. All of the local agencies are working together to make sure we're on top of this immediately."

Concerns about wildlife

Environmentalists are still concerned though - the RSPB say there are reports of 'oiled birds' in the area.

Peter Robertson, senior site manager at RSPB Arne, which borders the harbour, said:

"We have received reports of oiled birds in the area and we are monitoring the situation closely.

"The area is home to numerous bird species such as black-headed gull, Mediterranean gull, redshank and oystercatcher which breed on the coastline, and many other waterbirds which rely on the harbour mudflats for food.

"There are wintering avocet, black-tailed godwit and curlew still present in the harbour. There may also be a risk to the many birds that fish in the harbour, such as sandwich terns and ospreys."

Angela Pooley is from Friends of the Earth in East Dorset:

"It's devastating for the Harbour, but it just shows another reason why we shouldn't be expanding oil development, it's absolutely horrendous., The impact will be long term, particularly on wildlife around Studland Bay with the seahorses."

Brian Bleese, chief executive of Dorset Wildlife Trust, said:

"The impact on other marine species is also of great concern.

"Poole Harbour is a bass nursery and an important area for molluscs which feed by filtering seawater and may be particularly badly affected, as well as resident seals and two species of seahorse that breed in the harbour.

"Our wardens are closely monitoring the Brownsea lagoon where common and sandwich terns are gathering to nest and the northern shoreline to assess any impacts on wildlife there.

"We are liaising with Poole Harbour Commission on appropriate actions that need to be taken over the coming days and weeks."

16 kilometres of the shoreline have been checked so far, by foot, vessel and drone, with that process set to continue for the coming days.

The oil is being described as a 'metallic sheen' on the water, with helicopters and drones being used to monitor the spread and potential damage.

It's likely the clean-up operation will continue throughout this week, with advice for people to stay out of the water until then.

The Poole Harbour Commissioners say they're 'focussed' on that for now, but say 'a full investigation will take place in due course'.

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