Ammonia leak on purse seiner
A small leakage of ammonia gas occurred yesterday on a tuna purse seiner based at the New Port.
The incident was reported to the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) at around 10.30am.
SFRSA spokesperson Jones Madeleine said the leakage occurred while tests were being undertaken on the systems and some ammonia gas leaked.
“It was when the gas had emerged in the atmosphere that the personnel on the port smelled it. When that happened all systems were shut down and everybody evacuated to gather at the assembly point in the IDC car park,” he said.
He said a short while after the situation was under control everyone went back to work except for a few who were not feeling well and were transported to hospital.
Mr Madeleine said a joint investigation will be led by the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA), Division of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM), SFRSA and the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.
“These incidents are very serious and the investigation will determine what exactly happened and ensure that it does not reoccur because it puts the lives of many people in danger,” he said.