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Antigua Distillery recovers from molasses spill

West Indies-based Antigua Distillery has launched an investigation after 2,000 tonnes of molasses foam overflowed from the plant’s storage tank.

The distillery discovered the molasses leaking from the plant’s 2500-tonne capacity storage tank

On Saturday (10 June), Antigua Distillery – the producer of English Harbour Rum, Cavalier Rum and Kokocaribe Rum – discovered the molasses leaking from the distillery’s 2500-tonne capacity storage tank, which was delivered the previous day. A thick layer of foam had formed on top of the molasses and was found to be leaking through the vents under the roof of the tank.

The ship was then immediately notified to stop pumping. Once the overflow of foam subsided, pumping resumed and was completed by 10.30pm.

On Sunday (11 June) morning, the main storage tank located at the deep-water harbour began foaming over again. The foaming later subsided after a vacuum truck removed the spill-over molasses and additional truckloads of backfill were brought in.

Efforts to remove the spill have been underway since Saturday evening. Truckloads of backfill and a backhoe have been brought in to spread the fill, and to absorb the excess molasses both inside the distillery compound, and on the main road in front of the distillery.

A water truck was also brought in to wash the main road of any residual molasses that may have travelled onto it from the storage tank.

The primary concern is the pungent odour emitted by the spill. The distillery is working to ensure that the situation will be fully contained by this weekend.

The distillery’s managing director Anthony Bento admitted “full responsibility” for the “unusual” incident, which is the first of its kind in the company’s 85-year history.

He added: “The company has always placed an emphasis on ensuring the environment is not endangered as a result of our activities.

“For the past two years, the company has been involved in a pilot study with a US biotechnology firm to find ways of managing its effluent. This is a Caribbean-wide problem in the rum industry.”

Antigua Distillery are currently conducting further investigations into what caused the accident.

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