Troops from the Netherlands have been sent to the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire to clear a beach of oil from an offshore spill blamed on a capsized barge hundreds of miles away.
The military cleaned several beaches on the island and reopened them to the public on Friday.
Acting Lieutenant Governor Reynolds Oleana said Thursday that “the situation appears to be under control.” “What will happen in the next few days remains to be seen.”
Trinidad and Tobago faces ‘national emergency’ after massive coastal oil spill
Environmental authorities said they could begin assessing the damage once the contaminated area has been cleaned up.
The spill occurred near Trinidad and Tobago last month, prompting authorities there to declare a national emergency.
Workers respond to the aftermath of a major oil spill at Rockley Bay Beach in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, on February 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Akash Boudhan)
The twin island nation’s government announced earlier this week that at least 420,000 gallons of oil mixed with water had been siphoned from nearby waters. They warned that the figure was likely much higher because it did not include the “significant” amount of oil that crossed the Caribbean and was extracted along with sand and sargassum. There is.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the capsized barge had left Panama and was being towed to nearby Guyana when it began sinking.
The barge’s owner has not been found.
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Tobago authorities have warned that it will take up to eight months to completely clean up the spill and that remediation work, including relocation of the ecosystem, could take up to three years.
