Seaweeds mistaken to be oil spillage - EPA

A column of seaweeds sighted on the south-west of the platform of Saltpond Offshore Producing Company Limited (SOPCL), on April 1, was mistakenly taken to be an oil spillage, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.

Speaking to the GNA on Thursday, Mr Kojo Efunam, Director in Charge of Oil and Gas at EPA, said when information about an oil spillage got to the EPA, the Agency organised a flight over the affected area.

He said from the air, it appeared to be an oil spillage but when they took a speedboat to the site they discovered that it was a column of seaweeds and some of the seaweeds were harvested for confirmation.

Mr Ken Oham, Project Manager of SOPCL, told GNA that he directed immediate investigations when he received information about an oil spillage, but it turned out that a column of seaweeds had drifted in from the southwest of their area of operation.

He said the Company provided a speedboat that took Mr Efunam to the site to verify things for EPA, adding that, some of the harvested seaweeds had been sent to Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

Mr Oham said the Company had standard measures to detect an oil spillage immediately should any occur.

Meanwhile, when GNA visited Saltpond on Wednesday, the Municipal Chief Executive of Mfantsiman Municipal Assembly, Mr Henry Kweku Hayfron, said he had not received any report of oil spillage from the community.

The Chief Fisherman, Nana Kow Tawiah, also said his people had not encountered any oil spillage during their fishing expeditions.

Mr Godson Lodo, Head of the Municipal Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit, said they had not received any report about oil spillage during their routine monitoring activities.**