National Emergency for Tobago as oil spill spreads over Caribbean Sea

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced a national emergency and has considered raising it to a Tier III level emergency, and seeking international assistance to curb the issue of oil spill as it spreads to the Caribbean Sea.

New satellite images show the spread of pollutants in the Caribbean Sea, more than a week after the T&T Coast Guard was alerted about the capsized vessel, called ‘Gulfstream’ and the oil spill. The oil is en route to Guyana, in the vicinity of Scarborough.

Noting this, PM Rowley spearheaded a ministerial team to tour the disaster areas in the Tobago impacted by the oil spill last week. The vessel is recognized to be an Oil Products Tanker. The authorities are working tirelessly to contain the spread of the oil.

The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago held a news conference and added, “the situation is not under control” as the origin of the vessel has not yet been identified.

“This is a national emergency and therefore it will have to be funded as an extraordinary expense. We don’t know the full scope and scale of what is going to be required”, added PM Rowley.

The oil is coming from a restricted mysterious barge which is dropping toxins into the ocean. The smoke and oil coating the eastern beaches. As oil floats into the Caribbean Sea, it is easily spread by wind and currents.

Due to this, birds are at risk as the oil destroys the water-repellent quality of their feathers and if they are diving for fish, they ingest the oil along the way. The underwater creatures are swimming in the oil, so they naturally ingest the pollutants.

The European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission shows how far the oil spill has floated to the west across the seas. The oil released from the vessel raises concerns of the locals about their health due to a constant stench from the spill.

Such situations can affect the flow of tourists and visitors in the country as the Caribbean Sea is the main highlight of the island nations and it will directly have a bad impact on its economy. It becomes important to contain the spread of oil as it turns black in the sea.

“The best part of Tobago’s economy is its tourism, so it is important that we be cognizant that we don’t expose the tourism product to this kind of thing, and because this has happened, we have to contain it”, added PM Rowley.