Oil spill leads to ‘national emergency’ in Trinidad and Tobago

An unidentified ship has spilled oil onto the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, creating a “national emergency,” the country’s prime minister said on Sunday.

The capsized and largely submerged ship began leaking oil last Wednesday just off the south coast of Tobago, the smaller of the twin islands at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles. emergency response agency he said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley warning on sunday “The situation is not under control.”

“Because this is a national emergency, funding will need to be provided for extraordinary expenses,” he said, adding: “We don’t know the full scope and scale of what will be needed.”

Many of Tobago’s southern beaches and coastlines are flooded with oil, posing a danger to bathers and wildlife.

The ship has been visually identified as a “Gulfstream,” but its country of origin and official name are unknown, emergency response agencies said. The ship capsized, so its exact size and shape are unknown.

“We can only see the keel part of the ship, so we don’t know if it’s a cargo ship, a tanker or a barge. And its distinctive physical features are underwater and cannot be penetrated at this time. ”Lori said.

“But we do know that it appears to have broken down on contact here, and some type of hydrocarbons are escaping and contaminating the water and coastline,” he added.

Farley Augustine, leader of Tobago’s House of Representatives, said the country had deployed buoy booms to limit the spread of the oil and sent in divers to stem the flow, but without success.