Aboud chides Sinanan on oil-spill

GARY ABOUD of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) chided Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan for saying oil had dissipated from last Tuesday’s oil-spill in the sea near the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain.

“Minster Sinanan’s statement suggests he completely doesn’t understand the contaminant and the risk it poses. There are serious dangers of these hydrocarbons getting into the food chain.”

Aboud said the gulf is all one interconnected body of water, inclusive of its fisheries, so it made no sense for the minister to suggest the oil was gone away. FFOS programme director Lisa Premchand said rather than the oil being simply left to be pushed out by the tide into the Gulf of Paria, the pollutant should instead have been collected using booms.

In a recent statement, FFOS underlined the need to deal properly with oil-spills by recalling three Venezuelan doctors in a boat had died after an incident known as the Tank 70 rupture on April 23, 2017. FFOS asked why two years after the 2017 oil-spill at Chaguaramas, no-one had been prosecuted, despite governmental assurances of this at the time. Regarding last Tuesday’s spill, FFOS said they saw a dense concentration of oil near an industrial barge. “Eye witness reports stated that the oil emanated from this said barge.”

The statement said that as TT’s laws are poorly regulated and enforced, it is much cheaper to dump waste oil rather than to treat and dispose of it properly.

“Regularly there are deliberate discharges of oil into our marine waters, (often at our Ports) and even though the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) is called upon to investigate these disasters, the culprits are never held accountable.”

FFOS said the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, debated at great length and approved by our Cabinet, mandates that the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) must create and maintain a fingerprinting database of all oil on all vessels operating in our territorial waters. “Has the IMA done this? Is this plan just another lip service while our fishery and our health are compromised every day?”

The FFOS urged the plan be made law.

The statement said the plan requires that oil booms be strategically placed around the spill to prevent the spread of the hydrocarbon, yet photographs show that the booms were placed around other nearby vessels to prevent the oil from damaging them.

Apparently referring to a planned dry dock, FFOS asked, why are we now further exposing La Brea to more hydrocarbon contamination by commissioning another major port there?

“Should we not first properly regulate our marine operations before expanding the risks of toxic hydrocarbon contamination?”

As a large body of oil may be floating into the gulf, FFOS asked if any marine warnings have yet been issued for our seafarers? “Will any compensation be paid to fishers whose nets or engines will be damaged if it comes into contact with this spilled oil?”

The statement said the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 indicates a strict liability standard for damage from oil spills, including a fine of up to $10,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment. “Is the law being differently enforced for high profile and well-networked companies?

“FFOS call on the EMA to make public the source of this oil spill and the responsible culprits, and call on our Prime Minister to ensure that there is criminal and civil prosecution of these identified violators.”