Latest News

Tobago's tourism, fishing hit as oil slick spreads out throughout Caribbean

9 days after a slick was first identified by Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard, an oil leakage from a capsized barge remains unplugged, according to first responders and authorities, raising alarms for nations throughout the Caribbean Sea.

The spill has spread out miles from Tobago's coast, the location Impacted by the incident, leading authorities to notify its Caribbean next-door neighbors, including Venezuela and the island of Grenada.

A barge pulled by a tugboat triggered the spill, Trinidad's. federal government has stated, but information of the incident remain uncertain,. consisting of the kind of petroleum dripping, the ship's planned. destination, owner and if any members of the team were lost.

This looks like it will continue for a couple of weeks. I can not. simply sit down and do nothing, said Edwin Ramkisson, who makes. a living fishing for snapper and salmon in Lowlands, on Tobago's. Atlantic coast. I need assistance cleansing my boat before moving to. another port on the Caribbean side.

The slick has actually reached about 144 kilometers (89 miles) into. the Caribbean Sea and is moving at a rate of 14 km per hour,. Tobago's Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said on Thursday.

Venezuela has stated is keeping an eye on the spill and remains in. contact with Trinidad to collaborate reaction action. Grenada did. not reply to an ask for remark.

The barge is thought to have carried as much as 35,000. barrels of fuel oil, according to Augustine. The spill has. stained Tobago's beaches, impacting wildlife and tourism, and. has actually posed a threat to the Scarborough cruise ship port.

A number of beach and golf resorts in Tobago that usually. get foreign travelers have actually been required to close access to the. ocean.

About 2,000 barrels of oil have been collected up until now, the. head of Tobago's Emergency situation Management Firm Allan Stewart stated. on Friday, including that the island lacks protective. devices for teams and volunteers.

The twin-island nation's federal government said the ship's origin. was Panama and it was bound for Guyana. Monitoring. service TankerTrackers.com has said the barge-tugboat combo was. seen in satellite photos near Venezuela's Puerto La Cruz. refinery in late January, and it was headed to St. Vincent and. Grenadines days before the spill.