(Trinidad Express) Tobago’s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is calling for the owners of the vessel that capsized in Tobago’s waters, resulting in an extensive oil-spill, to come forward and pay for the damage done.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Augustine responded to a Ministry of National Security release which earlier stated that two vessels, a tug-boat and a barge, were involved in the spillage which had far reaching effects throughout the island’s waters.
An impassioned Augustine said that the ministry’s release had contained unanswered questions, including why it took seven days for the vessel to be identified by its owners. He questioned why the vessel’s owners had not yet made their way to the island to observe the scale of the impact of the spillage.
He said the owners of the vessel were culpable and should be made to pay for the “mess”.
“I want to know how much they will pay for this. Because you recognise your thing was broken you see it on all sorts of global news and it took you this long to come forward? The press release said perhaps it’s from (February) 4 they were reporting this thing was lost from them, and if that was the case nobody reached out to them between then and now and said something washed up in Tobago?”
“We could have avoided so much. Even as we speak and we are containing the hydrocarbons in that area located off Canoe bay, the vessel continues to leak that substance…We need to know that information so we can work on extracting it as soon as possible. We were able to save our paradise. This situation should not result in paradise lost but we need those responsible to come clean and we need those responsible to know that they have to pay for this mess. They are culpable as part of this mess,” he said.
He added, “We got that report last Wednesday at 7.20 am. And more than likely that vessel was lost before that time. Last week Wednesday was the time Tobagonians started noticing the hydrocarbons washing ashore and the vessel stuck out there so you really took that long to come forward and to take ownership of this? This is your vessel and you have not arrived in Tobago yet to sit with the people who have been part of this clean up?”
Augustine said that he had received a WhatsApp message alleging that the vessel was carrying 5000 tonnes of fuel and that its alleged owners had also attempted to purchase a refinery in Point Fortin. However he said none of the information could be verified without its owners taking responsibility for the wrecked barge.
He said that he had learned of the identification in the same manner the public had, through the Ministry’s release on Wednesday afternoon. While he said he was happy that some progress had been made, he said the identification took too long and posed a significant risk to volunteers and workers.
“For starters we need to know the quantity of material and what material you were transporting so we know what we have been dealing with, walking, swimming in and trying to clean up from our shores…So we are happy that someone has been identified but we think it took too long for someone to come forward. We were sending divers down in very dangerous situations trying to find the IMO number with a vessel that is bobbing up and down just to identify this vessel. someone could have come forward and said, “I think it is my vessel,” he said.
The Ministry’s release has stated that investigations revealed the vessels were bound for Guyana but had not arrived as anticipated. The barge, which the Trinidad and Toabgo Coast Guard believes to be the source of the spill, it said appears to be sinking.
The Coast Guard has confirmed that the tug which was towing the barge was identified as ‘’The Solo Creed,” and was moving from Panama to Guyana.
The Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) contacted Panamanian and Aruban authorities for photos of the tugboat and barge, which were used to identify both vessels, the release said.
