Oil spill caused by Hurricane Dorian is 'catastrophic,' environmentalists report

A Norwegian owned oil storage facility on Grand Bahama was damaged during Hurricane Dorian and has caused a 'catastrophic' oil spill, as reported by Bahamas Press.

The tops of five crude-storage tanks were torn off by hurricane winds gusting at speeds up to 295 km/h. A video from Coral Vita, an environmental agency, was posted online showing spilled oil on the ground near the shoreline. Coral Vita has called this oil spill "absolutely catastrophic" and is concerned that the oil spill could result in a fire.

Equinor, Norway's state-owned energy company that owns the oil storage facility, released a statement saying that they have conducted an aerial assessment of the site and found that the facility has sustained damage and oil has spilled, but say it is too early to quantify the volume of spilled oil.

Equinor says that the tough road conditions and flooding caused by the hurricane have impacted their ability to assess the situation and the scope of damages to the terminal and the surroundings.

The facility holds 6.75 million barrels of crude oil and will remain shut down until further notice. On Friday Equinor stated that it is too early to estimate when the response to the oil spill will take place and it does not currently see any indications that the oil has spilled out to the ocean.