The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) has confirmed that at least two vessels were involved in the recent oil spill incident in Trinidad and Tobago.
Video footage and other information, obtained by the TTCG, have confirmed that the two vessels are a tug boat and a barge. The Ministry of National Security is collaborating with other local and regional agencies to identify the vessels and their owners. Investigations have thus far revealed that the vessels appear to have been bound for Guyana.
However, the Guyanese authorities have confirmed that neither vessel arrived as anticipated. At this stage, it is not known whether any lives have been lost in the incident.
Since February 7th, 2024, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) has been responding on an incident of an overturned vessel and a resulting oil spill near Cove Eco Industrial and Business Park in Tobago. The spill appeared to be emanating from a wrecked barge, which was discovered lodged on a reef in the vicinity.
The TTCG is also examining video footage supplied by the GCG of the barge, as it appeared to be sinking. The TTCG is using certain distinctive markings of the barge, to confirm its identity.
The TTCG has also confirmed that the barge was being towed by a tug, the Solo Creed, from Panama, destined for Guyana. Satellite imagery also shows the Solo Creed towing an object on the 4th of February 2024. The National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre (NCSRC) was able to use this information, to track the tug in Trinidad and Tobago waters, towing an object. The NCSRC eventually lost radar contact with both vessels.
As part of the investigation, Caricom IMPACS contacted the authorities in Panama and Aruba, for photographs of the tug boat and the barge. The Dutch authorities in Aruba, provided images of the tug towing the barge, and these images were used to confirm the identity of both vessels.
Meanwhile, according to TTCG, clean-up efforts continue with success. However, satellite images and models suggest that waves might be taking some of the spill into the Caribbean Sea past northern Venezuela, increasing the risk that the oil impacts other beaches in Trinidad and Tobago that have coral reefs, and even other countries’ coasts, TEMA’s director Allan Stewart told Reuters.
