Cuban Civil Defense confirms recovery after fire at Supertanker Base in Matanzas

MATANZAS, Cuba, Nov 22 (ACN) Major General Ramon Pardo Guerra, chief of the National General Staff of the Civil Defense, appreciated today the progress made in the recovery of the local Supertanker Base, where he directed to speed up the total reestablishment of the lightning rod and firefighting systems.

During a visit to the area of the disaster which occurred last August, he valued the hard work done to overcome the material damages, estimated at more than 1.6 billion pesos, and he was interested in the improvement of the plans for disaster reduction.

Rigel Rodriguez Cubells, director of the Territorial Division of Commercialization of Combustibles Matanzas, explained that together with experts from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) they are working on the adjustments to the lightning rod system, based on international criteria.

According to the engineer, it is a priority to minimize all risks associated with the tanks, mainly those with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters, in order to increase the safety distance and also the area to contain the product in the event of a spill or fire.

Rodriguez Cubells stated that the priority is the recovery of the water supply to the Supertanker Base, based on several solutions such as a new well, and it is planned to incorporate new pumps as part of the fire-fighting infrastructure.

At the Base, tasks such as the demolition of damaged construction sites and buildings are over 70 % completed, with more than 30,600 cubic meters of material extracted, in addition to some 5,000 tons of coke (oil by-product) which can be used as raw material.

The chief of the National Civil Defense General Staff indicated the incorporation of drones as the necessary technological means to increase the effectiveness of the surveillance systems in the area, and called for a workshop to be held in 2023 to share the company's experience with other entities in the country.