So far, visitors on their way to the Virgin Islands have not been hindered by the massive fire that engulfed an important oil refinery in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday.
Officials of the V.I Port Authority and Royal Caribbean — which owns the cruise ship Adventure of the Seas, due on St. Thomas Saturday — said the fire has not affected inbound flights or passengers on cruise ships.
Puerto Rican media reported an out-of-control fire and multiple explosions that ripped through more than a third of the 40 tanks at the Gulf petroleum facility near San Juan Bay early Friday.
At least 14 of 40 were ablaze by the afternoon, according to the Puerto Rican online journal Caribbean Business.
“At present, they have been able to contain the fire,” Gov. Luis Fortuño said early Friday morning, according to the journal.
“It’s impossible to say what happened right now,” he said. “We are focused on containing the fire and ensuring everyone’s safety.
Puerto Rico’s governor also ensured his people that there were no signs of widespread oil spillages in adjacent waterways, and that the wind was blowing from the south to the north —- away from land.
“We understand this is the favorable because it is sending the toxic smoke over the Atlantic and away from population centers,” he said according to Puerto Rican newspapers.
Although the cause of the blaze remains under investigation, there was at least a hint of sabotage.
According to Caribbean Business, Marcial Orlando Felix, the top local official for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said a special team from the mainland would investigate the San Juan blast. Specialists would have to wait until the fire is extinguished before they enter the plant, the online journal reported.
Police and FBI agents were also investigating graffiti found Friday after the blast in a highway tunnel near the Minillas Government Center in San Juan with the message: “Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf.”
“Everything is very preliminary at this point, but obviously we’re looking into the graffiti and it’s a concern,” said Police Superintendent José Figueroa Sancha, according to Caribbean Business.
