Reports of an oil spill in Gulf of Paria

Environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) is reporting another oil spill in the Gulf of Paria, today.

Environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) is reporting another oil spill in the Gulf of Paria, today.

The group posted videos in its social media pages showing the spill in the waters of the Gulf, and warned “all fishers, seafarers and mariners to be on the lookout for this oil”.

“Fishermen and Friends of the Sea have received reports of an oil spill in the vicinity of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery stretching all the way to Claxton Bay. At the moment the oil is moving in northerly direction and is approximately one nautical mile from the coast,” the group said in its Facebook post.

Screenshot taken from the FFOS video showing the oil spill currently in the Gulf of Paria. (Image courtesy FFOS)

FFOS says it has alerted the relevant authorities about the spill, namely the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) and the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.

“Our Authorities must initiate the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) with the utmost urgency before this heavy crude reaches onshore,” FFOS said, in addition to demanding full transparency on this current spill, as it noted, “every drop of hydrocarbon has an ever-lasting impact on our marine ecosystem”.

“We are calling on the Authorities to make public, the cause of the spill, volume, nature of the hydrocarbon spilled, and those who are responsible.  Furthermore, pray that our Government/EMA act in the interest of our environment and prosecute this polluter.”

According to FFOS, since 2015, there have been in excess of 377 oil spills in this country, but “no one has ever been charged or prosecuted.”