Outage prompts Oman Fisheries to save stocks from spoilage
Oman Fisheries Company, in which the government has a minority stake, says it is scrambling to salvage large stocks of frozen fish that are in danger of spoiling following a prolonged electricity supply outage at one of its plants in Dhofar Governorate.
In a filing to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) last week, the Muscat-based publicly listed company said its Salalah facility currently holds as much as 195 metric tonnes of fish in storage. With supply to the plant having been cut since May 25 in the wake of Cyclone Mekunu, these stocks are at risk of rotting unless they are relocated to other cold stores in the governorate, it noted.
“The company is coordinating with the insurance company to shift all quantities of fish to other locations having cold stores to maintain the quality of the product and reduce the damage to the stock,” it said in the filing.
Besides forcing the suspension of operations at the Salalah plant, strong winds and rain triggered by Cyclone Mekunu also damaged car park sheds at the factory as well as the company retail marketing outlet in Salalah. Minor damage was also reported at the company’s facilities at Al Soqarah in Al Jazer, although inventory and operations have been spared, it said.
“We are currently in the process of assessing the damage and communicating to our insurance services provider under the belief that the mentioned facilities are covered by insurance, and we will inform you of any developments that appear on time,” the company added.
Meanwhile, Dhofar Tourism, another publicly traded company, announced the temporary shutdown of its luxury Mirbat Marriott Resort property due to waterlogging and power supply issues.