WEB DESK
Officials on the Caribbean island of Tobago are making efforts to clean up a growing oil spill while they also investigate the mysterious capsized vessel that is causing the growing environmental disaster. Oil is fouling the southwestern end of the island with warnings that it may continue to spread.
A massive clean-up effort has been launched as the oil continues to wash onshore with the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard investigating the vessel. The government is now classifying it as a Tier II disaster with the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Environmental Management Authority, and other government agencies all coordinating in the effort. Speculation was that it would be elevated to a Tier III disaster by the end of the day Thursday or early on Friday.
According to sources at least 15km of Tobago’s south-western coast have been affected, including some of the Caribbean island’s pristine beaches. Some 1,000 volunteers have now joined government staff to clean up the spill. Divers have been trying to isolate the leak from the vessel, which was abandoned by its crew.
Farley Augustine, the chief secretary of the island of Tobago, on Saturday, said the government may designate the accident a Level 3 disaster, the highest. The spill is currently Level 2, meaning the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management believes that the country can deal with the spill. A national emergency is declared when local resources become “overwhelmed” and international assistance is needed. The ship – identified only as The Gulfstream – capsized last Wednesday off the coast of the Cove Eco-Industrial Estate. The incident happened just days before Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival celebrations, which are an important source of income for its economy.