Clean-up ongoing after oil spill

THE EMA says officers from its Emergency Response and Investigations (ERI) unit have completed their investigation of an oil spill at the Carenage Jetty, Carenage.

On March 20, the presence of an oily substance and contamination of the coastline was observed on the shoreline and in the nearshore area by the Carenage Fishing Centre – the fishing depot under construction just after Haig Street.

At 6.50 pm that day, the ERI officers conducted a shoreline impact assessment at Williams Bay, near the Chaguaramas boardwalk. However no evidence was found of oil on the shoreline or in the water.

They also “reported that the oily substance appeared to be weathered and not crude oil; however representatives of the IMA took samples during the on-site investigation for further analysis.”

The EMA officers were part of a national response team comprising representatives from the Energy Ministry, the Institute of Marine Affairs and the Coast Guard.

Based on follow-up inspections carried out by ERI officers on March 21, “75 per cent of the oil contaminated debris has been cleaned up.”

The EMA also said the operations, supervised by the Energy Ministry, were conducted by contractor North West Marine.