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Port Control would like to advise that during the weekend, Saturday 22, and Sunday, 23 October 2022, there were several sightings and reports of a possible pollution spill within James Bay.
Following investigation, Port Control can now confirm that this spill is coming from RFA Darkdale which was sunk during the Second World War by the German submarine U-68. As fate would have it, it was the 81st anniversary of the RFA Darkdale sinking on Saturday, 22 October 2022.
Although the majority of oil on-board was removed from the wreck in 2015, a small amount remains and can be subject to leaking as the vessel continues to deteriorate.
A risk assessment to determine the best course of action to minimise the impact to the marine environment was carried out and given that the spill from RFA Darkdale is minor and ongoing, no containment protocols were deployed on this occasion.
Port Control would like to thank members of the public for reporting their concerns regarding this matter and encourage people to report any potential pollution spills in the future.
Notes to Editor:
A Ministry of Defence (MOD) project to remove oil from the wreck of the RFA Darkdale was completed in August 2015. All oil that could be pumped from the wreck was removed during the project. It was noted that small amounts of residue were left and as the wreck continues to rust away over the coming years, further small leaks of oil are inevitable.
#StHelena #RFADarkdale
SHG
25 October 2022
Chief Minister, Julie Thomas, is due to depart St Helena on Saturday, 22 October 2022, to travel to the UK to attend the annual Overseas Territories (OTs) Joint Ministerial Council (JMC).
The JMC takes place every year in London and is hosted by the UK Government. It brings together elected leaders and representatives from all of the OTs, as well as UK Ministers, and provides the principal forum for political dialogue and consultation between the UK and the OTs.
The JMC is due to begin on 7 November 2022 with the Chief Minister having a number of official engagements before and after the event itself, as well as a short period of leave.
The Chief Minister will also be joined by key officials, including the Governor Nigel Phillips CBE, Chief Secretary, Susan O’Bey, and St Helena’s UK Representative Kedell Worboys MBE, who will be providing support throughout the trip.
Chief Minister, Julie Thomas, said:
“I am excited to be able to represent St Helena in person as Chief Minister at this year’s JMC. It will be the first time a Chief Minister from St Helena has travelled to the UK for this meeting, and I intend to make the most out of the trip.
“I have a full programme of events lined up. This includes the JMC itself, bilateral meetings with UK Government officials and the Minister for the Overseas Territories, alongside a number of engagements with important island partners and other OT representatives.
“This provides an excellent opportunity not just to promote St Helena, but to also build important links with key UK Government colleagues and the elected leaders of other communities within our OT family. Whilst very different, the OTs face many similar challenges. I look forward to learning about the innovative approaches taken elsewhere and if applicable, how these approaches can be implemented or tailored to work here on St Helena. Networking is important and I firmly believe that a lot can be learnt from the experiences of our OT family, in addition to building strong relationships with the UK Government. Discussions will focus on the importance and need for continued technical expertise and financial assistance to help St Helena to achieve prosperity, with due consideration given for the time it will take for us to implement our plans to move towards renewable energy generation and improved telecom provision. These are areas which need to be addressed, if we are to tackle cost of living pressures and drive economic growth.
“I will also be taking this opportunity to champion the great work underway in St Helena in relation to our blue and green agendas and our projects that showcase the success of collaborative working. It’s important that St Helena itself recognises its successes and how these can act as a blueprint for other OTs.”
The Chief Minister is due to arrive back on St Helena on Saturday, 12 November 2022. Whilst the Chief Minister is off-Island, Minister for Environment, Natural Resources & Planning, Christine Scipio, will be appointed Deputy Chief Minister.
#StHelena #JMC
SHG
21 October 2022
The St Helena Health Services Directorate would like to inform the public that 12 positive cases of COVID-19 were identified/reported within the community during the period Friday 14 to Thursday 20 October 2022.
A total of 1794 positive cases have been identified since the lifting of quarantine on Monday 8 August 2022.
If you have recently self-tested and were or are currently positive with COVID-19, you are asked to please call the COVID Helpline via telephone number 25888, to report your result, if you haven’t already done so. This is so that the population’s COVID-19 statistics as well as your health record, can be updated. You will therefore be asked for your name, date of birth, and the date you tested positive.
Whilst members of the public are asked to continue reporting positive test results to ensure that authorities have the most accurate picture possible, statistics show that the number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to fall from the peak observed in mid-September.
As such, it is considered that the island has moved through the transition phase following the removal of quarantine and has now entered, and will remain in, the phase of “Living with COVID”. The public are nonetheless advised to continue to practise good hand and respiratory hygiene, with further information to be provided shortly about what this means for the island, and any actions that individuals may want to continue to observe.
SHG
21 October 2022
Legislative Council has recently agreed amendments to the Prisons Ordinance, 1960 following the separation of the Police and Prison Services.
The amendment will:
- Provide prison officers with the powers that they require while they are on duty without requiring them to be appointed as police officers.
- Clarify that prison officers are only subject to the disciplinary rules contained within the Prisons Ordinance 1960, allowing the Superintendent of Prisons to efficiently and effectively manage their staff.
The Prisons Ordinance, 1960 sets out the legal framework for the management of Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Jamestown.
Prior to introducing this amendment, the Ordinance did not provide any specific powers to prison officers and, as a result, it has been necessary to appoint them as police officers. This is in order, amongst other needs, to allow them to carry personal protective equipment. Doing so has given prison officers the full range of police powers and obligations whilst they are on duty and carrying out their prison officer role.
Following the creation of the Safety, Security & Home Affairs Portfolio and the recent separation of the role of Superintendent of Prisons from the Chief of Police, the Prisons Ordinance, 1960 has been subject to review, and initial amendments put forward to help better reflect the requirements of, and obligations on, prison staff. Ultimately these changes ensure prison officers have the correct powers when required, and are answerable to the Superintendent of Prisons, as opposed to the Chief of Police.
This is the first stage in updating the Prison Ordinance, 1960 to better reflect the modern needs of HMP Jamestown and the community. Further amendments will be forthcoming as a more detailed review takes place.
#StHelena #PrisonsOrdinance #AltogetherSafer
SHG
21 October 2022
SHG’s Chief Digital Officer, Jeremy (Jerry) Roberts, and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) Engineer, Marc Andre, recently signed the verification and commissioning document in regards to the Fibre Optic Cable Project.
During his time on-Island Marc ran all the optical and commissioning tests on St Helena’s branch of the Fibre Optic Cable, as well as the branches between Samba and Cape Town to test whether the line is actually capable of carrying traffic.
Jerry commented:
“From my perspective, signing the document was a great honour and huge achievement. It couldn’t have been accomplished without the support of the in-house SHG Team and those international entities who have travelled to the Island to assist with the project thus far. In addition, we look forward to the support of those respective organisations who still need to visit the Island to finalise the Project, which is scheduled for next year.”
#StHelena #FibreOpticCableProject
SHG
21 October 2022
The Health Services Directorate would like to inform the public that with effect from Monday, 24 October 2022, the Dispensary Bus schedule to district clinics will change to accommodate the recent changes in the District Outpatient clinic schedule.
See table below for the new dispensary bus schedule:
| Monday | 9am – 1pm Half Tree Hollow Clinic |
| Wednesday | 9am- 1pm Levelwood Clinic (Alternate weeks only) |
| Thursday | 9am – 1pm Longwood Clinic |
| Friday | 9am – 1pm Half Tree Hollow Clinic |
If persons would like their repeat prescription medicines to be delivered via the Dispensary Bus, please call or email to pre-order and please state this to Pharmacy staff or within the email order, as well as to which Clinic it should be delivered to.
Please allow at least five working days for all orders to be processed and dispensed.
To order using the email service: pharmacy.prescriptions@shg.gov.sh or call via telephone on 25867.
The Health Services Directorate would like to thank the public for their cooperation and understanding at this time and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
SHG,
20 October 2022
The Health Services Directorate would like to inform the public that the emergency dental clinic, which is normally open to the public between 8:30 and 9:30 every weekday, will be closed on Tuesday, 25 October 2022.
Persons who experience any dental emergency during this time are asked to call the Dental Clinic via telephone on 25387 where they will be triaged by a Dental Nurse.
This closure will be for Tuesday 25 October only. The normal emergency dental clinic will resume from Wednesday 26 October 2022.
The public is thanked in advance for their understanding and cooperation
SHG
20 October 2022
In order to extend the lifespan of a new domestic/commercial waste cell recently excavated at Horse Point Landfill Site, Waste Management Services (WMS) have organised a small blasting operation tomorrow, Friday 21 October 2022.
This blasting operation will increase the predicted lifespan of the cell by increasing the overall depth, which could not be achieved using only the excavation plant equipment on-site.
The blast will take place between 12 noon and 2pm. All persons within the blast exclusion zone will be evacuated beforehand, and flagmen will be in position to assist and to ensure that everyone adheres to the warnings and remains in the safe zone.
Three short siren blasts will be sounded one minute before the detonation. On completion of the detonation, a short siren blast will then be sounded and the public will be allowed back into the area.
WMS extends thanks to everyone involved in the planning and execution of this blasting operation, most notably Mr Nicky Yon and his team, Mr Jeremy Clingham, Mr Alan Hudson, Chief of Police, David Price, Mrs Michelle Yon and Mr Richard Gardner from the Fuel Infrastructure Project.
Waste Management Services ‘working in partnership with customers for a cleaner and greener St Helena’.
SHG
20 October 2022
St Helena Government (SHG) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) are pleased to invite you to participate in a half-day workshop on St Helena’s National Conservation Areas (NCAs), as part of the Darwin Plus Project ‘Sustainable management planning for St Helena’s National Conservation Areas’.
SHG, the (JNCC), and SAERI (Falklands) Limited (SFL) are working in partnership to develop sustainable-use Management Plans for St Helena’s 13 nature NCAs. These are the National Parks of Sandy Bay, The Barn and Stone Top, Millennium Forest, High Hill, Deep Valley Islands, Prosperous Bay Plain and Heart Shaped Waterfall Nature Reserves, and the Man & Horse, Broad Bottom, Deadwood Plain, Bottom Woods and Upper Prosperous important Wirebird areas.
The workshop is intended for all NCA stakeholders, and will mark the first of the project’s engagement activities.
Topics covered during the workshop will include:
- Project Overview and Workshop Objectives
- Ensuring Effective Engagement
- Management Plans – Format and Content
- Data Identification
- Next Steps.
Dates and Venue: Two workshops will be held at the following venues and times. Invitees are encouraged to join whichever workshop is most convenient to them.
| Date | Location | Time |
| Tuesday, 25 October 2022 | Harford Community Centre | 9am – 1.30pm |
| Wednesday, 26 October 2022 | Blue Hill Community Centre | 9am – 1.30pm |
The project partners recognise the importance of these areas to the people of St Helena. It is therefore planned that the workshops will be interactive with opportunities for participants to learn about the project, while also providing feedback on the future direction of the management planning process. The workshops will include break-out working group sessions. Tea/coffee and lunch will be provided for all participants.
If you are not able to attend a workshop a further community information session will also be held at:
| Date | Location | Time |
| Wednesday, 26 October 2022 | Kingshurst Community Centre | 7pm – 8.30pm |
For further information and/or to confirm attendance, please contact Isabel Peters via email: Isabel.Peters@sainthelena.gov.sh.
SHG
20 October 2022
The Health Services Directorate would like to inform the public that the emergency dental clinic, which is normally open to the public between 8:30 and 9:30 every weekday, will be closed on Tuesday, 25 October 2022.
Persons who experience any dental emergency during this time are asked to call the Dental Clinic via telephone on 25387 where they will be triaged by a Dental Nurse.
This closure will be for Tuesday 25 October only. The normal emergency dental clinic will resume from Wednesday 26 October 2022.
The public is thanked in advance for their understanding and cooperation
SHG
20 October 2022