Vopak employees, government officials including Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and residents of the surrounding communities of Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard and Hunters gathered at various sites around the compound to view the implosions, which occurred between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., following a brief ceremony.
In his address, Vopak Managing Director Thijs Van Huizer touched on the symbolism of the three stacks, which had been standing for around 40 years.
“The chimney stacks are indeed truly landmarks. The old BORCO refinery was probably one of the most important companies to come to Grand Bahama and help drive the development of industry on the island. The chimney stacks were a symbol of that development that could be seen from miles away,” he said, adding that they provided bearings for many persons heading toward Freeport via sea and air.
The refinery was closed in 1985, he furthered, and since then BORCO has been a company in decline, operating at a bare minimum.
“It’s obvious that in those kinds of circumstances, investments in the former refinery or the chimney stacks were not being done. I think since then we’ve witnessed the slow but sure decay of those stacks.”
Huizer said he personally believed that the symbolism of the stacks has changed over the years, from a positive testimony of industrial development on the island to a sad reminder of what once was.
On a positive note, however, Huizer said the stacks are coming down to make room for additional oil storage tanks, which will help VTB develop into a world-class business; one that has a tremendous impact on the global flows of oil and petroleum.
Describing Grand Bahama as a diamond in the rough, Huizer said the island has an ideal location to become a world-class logistics hub.
“Both of our shareholders, First Reserve Corporation and Royal Vopak recognize this potential and made a significant investment to ac-quire what was a starving company and to turn it around,” he said.
“As you no doubt know, we are investing significantly to transform the old BORCO and we aim to become one of the largest and best petroleum transshipment hubs in the world.”
The ceremony also featured performances by the Lewis Yard Primary School dancers and Junkanoo group.
The three implosions then went off without a hitch, each roughly 10 minutes apart. The demolition team used less than 200 pounds of explosives to do the job. The individual implosions were set off by students of Lewis Yard primary, who won the honour after successfully participating in a competition with their schoolmates.
As onlookers watched in awe, the stacks each fell slowly to the side, landing on the ground with minimal noise and only a small billow of dust.