The authorities DCMR Milieudienst Rijnmond (Environmental Protection Agency), Inspectie SZW and the Fire Brigade demanded Odfjell Terminals Rotterdam (OTR) to terminate their activities after not complying with safety regulations. This weekend the company terminated its activities.
After a meeting on 27 July between the parties involved, the company presented a plan addressing both the short term needs and long-term goals with regards to the situation at OTR. This plan started with a controlled safety shutdown of the terminal within the next 24 hours.
Fire Fighting Equipment to Be Verified
All fire fighting systems on site will be verified prior to commencement of operations. This means no truck, rail, barge and ships movements will be reinitiated until the integrity of the respective fire fighting equipment of the tanks has been verified. Only movements to process industries with risk of plant shutdowns will continue under enhanced safety measures in cooperation with the authorities.
Compliance with PGS 29
All cooling and extinguishing equipments on over 140 tanks with carbon steel pipes will be replaced by new ones. At the same time maintenance will be carried out, where necessary, on other parts of the tanks. All tanks at OTR will be in full compliance with legislation and regulations and also with the PGS 29 guideline. PGS 29 is the guideline for large above-ground tank installations in which flammable liquids are stored. PGS 29 exceeds current legislation and regulations with respect to safety and the environment.
Picture: Odfjell Terminals Rotterdam (source: https://www.odfjell.com/Pages/default.aspx[Odfjell])
