Chief Secretary: Leaking barge off Tobago not affected by Beryl

THE capsized Gulfstream barge off the coast of the Cove Eco-Industrial Estate, Tobago, has not been affected by the category 4 Hurricane Beryl, which battered Barbados, Carriacou and other islands in the Windwards on July 1.

At a news conference that day, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine was asked about the implications for the vessel of the torrential weather system. He said an investigation had shown the vessel did not move significantly but remained in place.

“The bobbing up and down of the vessel, of course, that happens on a normal day with rough seas, and so that happened in this instance T&T Salvage (oil-spill-removal specialist) more or less had removed the oil material from inside of the vessel. What they did not remove, I guess leaked out and went its way. We have not seen any leakages, nor did the vessel move from its location, so we are very happy for that.”

On February 7, the vessel was found overturned in the sea and leaking bunker fuel some 200 metres off the coast of Cove. So far, its owner has not been identified.

The cost of the clean-up has been estimated to be over $50 million.