A significant amount of oil washed ashore on Adelaide beach last week, the Ministry of Transport and Aviation reported yesterday.
In a statement, the ministry said officials were alerted on Saturday about the spill and acted immediately to establish a plan of action.
It said the Ministry of the Environment and Housing dispatched technical officers from the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) and the BEST Commission visited the area and are preparing reports for review and action.
"We note that much of the oily debris had been washed away by the tide after an apparent clean-up effort by concerned citizens," the statement said.
"The Department of Environmental Health Services will seek to determine the source of the oil emission and other
necessary clean-up and remediation actions as the investigation unfolds."
Environmentalist Sam Duncombe, a resident of the area, said the oil washed ashore for several yards along the coastline.
"It is a situation that is completely out of control," she said.
"It is entirely disrespectful. How long does it take to get this fixed? How long do we have to be exposed to these contaminates that are persistent in the environment?
"This situation has been going on for way too long for there not to have been a full investigation and a solution found to stop the oil from hemorrhaging out of that area."
Gary Vanhoek, dive instructor at Stuart Cove's, said he's been fighting this issue for years.
"I feel that everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else and no one seems to take responsibility," he said.
Vanhoek said Stuart Cove's can't take clients to certain dive sites due to the risk of placing them in contaminated water.
"You can come out on any given day and you will see the oil slick," he said.
"There is a cost to this. This is destroying tourism and the fishing industry over here."
Duncombe said her neighbor saw the spill on Thursday and took photos. The next day, the two attempted to clean up what they could, Duncombe said.
She said that she also had to warn visitors who tried to swim in the water.
"There was a family with a little baby and we had to warn them," she said. "We had to say to them, 'Listen that dark plume you are looking at, that's oil. You need to get out of the water'.
"We promote the country by showing beautiful pristine images of sandy beaches that go on for miles that are unpolluted and untainted and the reality is in New Providence, where 80 to 90 percent of the population lives, we are living in a polluted hell hole. It looks clean, but it isn't."
Duncombe said wherever the oil is coming from, the government must act to prevent further incidents.
"They need to figure out what is going on in the southwest New Providence and deal with it."
In its statement, the ministry said due to the ongoing and "very longstanding environmental concerns at Clifton Pier (well in excess of a decade) and reports from the National Oil Spill Advisory Committee of the same, a Cabinet committee was appointed to review the Clifton Pier area and the associated reports".
It said the committee has made recommendations which "includes the development and implementation of an Environment Management Plan and an independent Environmental Review of the entire Clifton Pier area".
"Notwithstanding that an environmental management plan will be implemented, determining the source of the pollution is a priority in eradicating this on-going issue," the statement added.
"The public will be kept updated on the implementation of the remedial recommendations by the Ministry of the Environment and Housing as necessary.
"The protection of the marine environment is paramount to the growth and development of the country and hence a priority to the Government of The Bahamas."

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