A fire at CL Marine’s Caribbean Dockyard and Engineering Services Ltd, also known as Caridoc, in Chaguaramas resulted in the destruction of approximately 65 pieces of fibreglass materials used by oil and gas companies to sheath their drilling pipes. This incident caused losses estimated to be in the millions of dollars, as reported by the Fire Service.
The blaze began at 9 am on July 5 and was eventually brought under control by firefighting units, though not before significant damage was done. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Andy Hutchinson mentioned that the fire consumed a storage area of about 20 metres by 20 metres containing the fibreglass materials, with the cause yet to be determined as investigations are ongoing.
President of the Fire Services Association, Keone Guy, expressed that the loss is expected to exceed several million dollars. The Northern Division Assistant Chief Fire Officer Sampson detailed the response efforts, mentioning that units from Four Roads and Chaguaramas stations were the first to arrive at the site, where thick black smoke was seen billowing.
Additional assistance was called for, with units deploying a high-trans high-volume-vehicle capable of sourcing water from the sea to support the fire hoses. Firefighters adopted a two-prong approach, combining defensive and offensive tactics to combat the intense blaze. Despite fibreglass not being highly flammable, the challenges stemmed from unknown materials mixed with it that could be contributing to the fire.
To protect nearby residents from the thick smoke and hazardous fumes, the police blocked off the Western Main Road. Various measures such as foam, seawater, freshwater, and the assistance of T&TEC were employed to contain the fire. Luckily, there were no reported injuries from this incident.
In 2020, the government took over CL Marine Ltd and its subsidiaries following liquidation. The Ministry of Finance revealed that the shipyard would be utilized for various purposes, including servicing the government’s fleet of vessels. Two years later, Caridoc’s drydock was submerged underwater after the Ministry acquired the facility as part of debt recovery from Clico.
Efforts to obtain additional information from Caridoc’s chief operating officer Wayne Beharry were unsuccessful.
