Trinidad government to dispose of ship that caused major oil spill

The Trinidad & Tobago government Monday put up for sale the abandoned vessel that overturned off the Coast of Cove in Tobago in early February, carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil.

The spill, which was first spotted off the coast of Tobago’s Atlantic coast on February 7, damaged some of the island’s mangroves and threatened its tourism and fishing sector. It also entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and Caribbean islands, including Bonaire.

The Gulf Stream was refloated last month under the supervision of a team from an internationally recognised salvage company, T & T Salvage Inc, and later towed to Trinidad.

In August, T&T Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said his government was continuing its search for the people responsible for the abandonment of the Gulf Stream, and in a statement Monday, the Ministry of Works and Transport said it is inviting bids for the purchase ‘as is and where is’ of the capsized barge, by October 1.

Rowley charged that the oil spill had occurred because of the activities of “people who did not want others to know that they were involved in”.

“The ocean is a very big place ... and that’s why there is an international body which exists to come to a country’s aid if you find yourself being damaged by an oil spill of that nature or similar nature,” the PM said.

Port of Spain has requested compensation of US$14 million to US$20 million for the spill from the United Kingdom-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund.

CMC