Authorities in dark over oil spill

A month after the Chaguaramas coastline was covered in a thick layer of oil, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) are still investigating the spill.

Newsday spoke to Mario Singh, corporate communications manager of the EMA, who confirmed that various analyses of samples from the spill are still under way, including “fingerprinting” techniques to determine the source of the oil. He said while information remains unclear, the authority has confirmed that the spill most likely originated somewhere off the eastern coast of Pointe Gourde in Chaguaramas.

“We tested sample bilgers from a number of potential sources, mainly vessels in the Gulf of Paria, and we have not yet been able to pinpoint the source. Work is still ongoing with respect to sampling. From dispersion modelling, both the IMA and EMA strongly believe the oil may have come from somewhere south-east of Pointe Gourde.”

Asked if those responsible for the spill might face legal action by the State, Singh said while it was possible, the situation was much more complicated than originally thought and there had been instances where vessels abandoned off Chaguaramas had been difficult to trace.

Newsday also spoke to president of environmental watchdog group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) Gary Aboud, who said by now the EMA should have conclusive evidence of the spill’s origins and feared it was being influenced by higher powers to prevent the findings from being publicised. He further dismissed claims from the EMA investigators that a suspected vessel was deemed unsafe to board, preventing a comparison of samples. “This vessel is licensed to operate in the waters of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a working vessel that is on the sea every day with a captain and crew and it was, in fact, removing waste oil. The EMA’s explanation on the vessel being unsafe to board strikes me as being lame, deliberate and a misrepresentation of the truth.” Aboud said unless Government conducted national affairs with responsibility and ownership, citizens would continue to suffer from corruption.