THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine says there is a strong possibility Tobago may need international assistance to address the environmental fallout from an oil spill caused by a boat that was found overturned on Wednesday in the sea about 200 metres off the coast of the Cove Eco Industrial Park.
Thick oil blackened the shorelines of several coastal villages including Petit Trou beach, Lambeau, Lowlands, near the Magdalena Beach & Golf Resort and along the Scarborough waterfront, Milford Road. There are reports the oil has seeped into waters as far east as Roxborough.
The situation has left fisherfolk and hotel operators very concerned, with the former worried about their catches and the latter, worried about cruise ships not wanting to dock in Tobago's waters.
Addressing a news conference on Thursday at the Scarborough Lay-By, Augustine acknowledged that fishermen, beach goers and the island’s tourism sector will be severely impacted by the oil spill. He told reporters the situation was grim.
“We have at this point the threat level elevated at tier two but we anticipate that in the coming hours it may very well be elevated to tier three,” Augustine said.
“At tier two, it means we, from our end, are declaring this not just a disaster but one that requires national attention.
“Tier three level means, at that juncture, we will have to get requisite international partners to assist. That means we will have to go beyond the national scope given some of the things we are seeing at the moment and can’t readily disclose right now.”
[caption id="attachment_1062502" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Oil coats the shores along this expanse of beachfront in Scarborough on Thursday - a day after a boat overturned at Canoe Bay and began leaking oil into the sea. PHOTO BY COREY CONNELLY - Corey Connelly[/caption]
Augustine said the THA was working closely with the Ministry of Energy, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), the Coast Guard, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and Kaizen Environmental Services (Trinidad) Ltd to try and resolve the situation.
The 330 ft long boat, named Gulfstream, is believed to have been carrying lumber and sand, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) said in a release issued on February 8.
TEMA also said there were no visible signs of human life nor remains on the vessel. It said the EMA has collected samples of the oil for further testing to confirm its exact composition.
Augustine, who was accompanied by Secretary of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development Trevor James and TEMA director Allan Stewart, said the clean-up exercise began in earnest on February 8.
Close to 80 workers from the Cepep, Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), Civilian Conservation Corps and Community Emergency Response Team were deployed to assist with exercises at Petit Trou, Rockley Bay and other areas. Absorbent booms were also brought in to assist with containing and absorbing some of the oil spill across part
