MAYOR OF Galway councillor Pádraig Conneely says two leading fuel suppliers in the west have a “civic duty” to ensure the success of the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway is not jeopardised.
The Fine Gael mayor says he is appealing to them to facilitate removal of the oil tank farm on Galway docks. The tank farm was to have been dismantled last year to make way for a temporary base for the international yacht race’s first ever Irish stopover from May 23rd to June 6th.
Race organisers and the city and harbour authorities had hoped fuel suppliers Topaz and Chevron would relocate to a new terminal, built at a cost of €38 million on the harbour’s southern border.
Late last week, a first shipment was made to the new Enwest terminal – signalling a breakthrough was imminent – and a second shipment is due tomorrow. However, Topaz and Chevron have denied a relocation agreement has been concluded.
It is understood both companies had commercially-sensitive “difficulties” with moving into a shared facility. The dockside terminal, formerly leased by Shell and acquired by Topaz, is so close to the city centre that it would not meet revised health and safety standards set in the wake of the Buncefield explosions in Hertfordshire, England, three years ago.
Over 40 people were injured, and houses and businesses evacuated during a fire which engulfed the area and lasted for some days in December 2005. The new Enwest terminal meets the 400m health and safety exclusion zone set in Britain after the Buncefield inquiry.
The Government has committed €8 million to Galway’s participation in the race, which represents the largest State investment of its type to date in a sporting event. The stopover is expected to attracted 140,000 spectators with a prospective spend in the region of €42 million during the fortnight, and many hotels are already reporting full bookings.
The mayor said he would be “optimistic” the companies would ensure “nothing is put in the way of the success of this race” in the city and surrounding area.
Ironically, one of Topaz’s shareholders is businessman Denis O’Brien who is also part of a syndicate that contributed towards the costs of Green Dragon, one of two Irish boats, participating in the race.
Topaz said it had “continued to facilitate the commissioning of the Enwest facility, even to the extent of laying down product in the main storage tanks. The company is continuing to work with all of the interested parties in Galway in an effort to accommodate the Volvo Ocean Race. The company’s position remains that if a satisfactory conclusion comes to ongoing discussions, then Topaz is prepared to relocate to the Enwest terminal”.
A spokesman for Chevron confirmed it had received a letter from the mayor and it had explained to him it had “been asked to keep its joint venture terminal open during the Volvo Ocean Race to supply fuels and oils to our customers in the Galway area”.
“Looking longer term, Chevron has an existing facility with a number of years left to run that enables us to meet the needs of our customers in the Galway area and we have never expressed a desire to move,” he said.
“ However, we continue to maintain an open dialogue with the Galway Harbour Company.”
