St John’s, Antigua – An oil spill occurred on Thursday at the Antigua Distillery during the refilling of a storage tank, with oil emanating from one section of the facility.

Preliminary information suggests the incident happened while an oil tank was being refilled, resulting in a spill on the compound. The extent of the spill and whether any of the oil reached nearby waterways have not yet been officially confirmed.

Compounding the situation, another contaminant believed to be molasses from the distillery – described as an ongoing concern – reportedly flowed toward the nearby Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force Coast Guard post.

IPB observed and later confirmed that the oil containment boom which had been deployed last week to prevent contaminants from the Cook’s Landfill from spreading further out to sea had to be redeployed to the affected area near the distillery.

The Development Control Authority is said to be monitoring the molasses discharge issue. It is unclear at this stage whether any regulatory breaches have been identified or if enforcement action will follow.

Authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the spill or outlined any environmental impact assessment.