SCARBOROUGH, Tobago,Reporting from first respondents claimed, nine days following the discovery of a slick by Trinidad and Tobago’s Coast Guard. An oil leak from a capsized barge remains unplugged, raising alarms for countries across the Caribbean Sea.
From Tobago’s shore, the spill has spread miles from the part that was first affected by the incident, leading authorities to alert its Caribbean neighbors, including the islands of Grenada and Venezuela.
Trinidad’s government has said that A barge pulled by a tugboat was the cause of the spill, but details of the incident remain unclear, including the type of petroleum leaking, the ship’s intended destination, owner, and if any people of the crew were missing.
This looks like it will last for a few weeks. I cannot simply sit down and do nothing, says Edwin Ramkisson, who makes a living fishing for snapper and salmon in the Lowlands, on Tobago’s Atlantic shore. Before moving to another port of the Caribbean side, I need help to clean my boat, he said.
Recently Tobago’s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said that the slick has reached about 144 kilometers (89 miles) into the Caribbean Sea and is moving at a rate of 14 km per hour.
The twin-island nation’s government said the ship’s origin was Panama and it was bound for Guyana. However, in late January monitoring service TankerTrackers.com said the barge-tugboat combo was seen in satellite photos near Venezuela’s Puerto La Cruz refinery and it was led to St. Vincent and Grenadines days before the spill.
Venezuela’s oil minister Pedro Tellechea told journalists that the vessel has nothing to do with state oil company PDVSA or Venezuela, but the nation is working together with Trinidad’s investigation including the oil’s type.
According to Augustine, the barge is believed to have carried as much as 35,000 barrels of fuel oil. The spill has discolored Tobago’s beaches, affecting tourism and wildlife, and has posed a danger to the Scarborough cruise ship port.
In Tobago, many beach and golf resorts that usually receive foreign tourists have been forced to close entree to the ocean. The head of Tobago’s Emergency Management Agency Allan Stewart said that about 2,000 barrels of oil have been collected so far and that the island is short of protective equipment for crews and volunteers.
