World News – US – Environmentalists worry about potentially devastating oil spill

Warning that Venezuelan tanker tipping in Caribbean waters off Trinidad and Tobago could cause world's largest oil spill

CAMEROON MAGAZINE - GM26/10/20203 Mins read57 Views

Environmental activists call for action on stranded tanker holding 13 million barrels of oil off Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean

The ship, Nabarima, is a Venezuelan tanker used to contain crude oil and operated by an Italian energy company in collaboration with a local Venezuelan company

According to Global Citizen, an international nonprofit that campaigns for global climate action and monitors developments, if the ship leaked or sank the spill would be five times worse than the oil spill Exxon Valdez in 1989 and the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, which are the two largest oil spills in history

While officials in Trinidad and Tobago announced Wednesday that there was « no imminent risk of tipping or sinking » with « minimal risk of an oil spill at this time, » activists and experts still call for proactive measures to be taken by regional authorities Governments

Gary Aboud, general secretary of the Fisherman and Friends of the Sea (FFOST) organization, posted a video on YouTube on October 17 calling for increased awareness of the state of Nabarima

Aboud’s video showed the ship sharply tilted and only supported by anchor chains to keep it stable ‘It’s not enough,’ Aboud said in the video Hurricane season 2020 has already caused 23 storms in the region and FFOST fears that extreme weather conditions may overturn the ship

The Nabarima has been permanently moored in the Corocoro oil field in the Gulf of Paria, a semi-enclosed body of water between Trinidad and Venezuela, the Maritime Executive website reported

According to Global Citizen, the oil is typically stored in ships like the Nabarima before being transported to tankers that can transport the product around the world. However, embargoes and sanctions against Venezuela after the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro mean Venezuela cannot sell its oil

On August 30, Eudis Girot, head of the Unitary Federation of Petroleum Workers of Venezuela, shared footage showing the ship taking on water in the lower levels on Twitter

In the tweet in Spanish, Girot explained that the ship was « in very poor condition » and had three meters of water on board

SE HUNDE NABARIMA es una plataforma de almacenamiento tiene 1,300,000 bls de petrolo a bordo a punto de derramarse y causar a terrible catástrofe mundial desde golfo de Paria y el Caribe U5WQZM2GPs

Aboud told Global Citizen that if the ship overturned, the entire Caribbean region would be affected

« The marine environment, including many outcrops and coral reefs which will all be decimated, » he said « Ecosystems will collapse and biodiversity will decline »

The marine and coastal environments of the Caribbean are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world and are home to 10% of the world’s coral reefs, 1,400 species of fish and marine mammals, and vast coastal mangroves

Of the seven species of sea turtles in the world, five of them are found in Caribbean waters, Aboud said

According to US-based CBS News, the vessel is part of a joint venture between Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and Italian company Eni SpA

An Eni spokesperson told Reuters the company was looking to unload crude oil from the ship but was waiting for a « green light » from the US government « to avoid any risk of sanctions »

But CBS News reported that on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago said PDVSA had « a responsibility to take action to prevent an environmental disaster in Venezuelan waters, » which, according to her, would also harm the inhabitants of neighboring countries

« PDVSA previously denied that the vessel poses a threat In September, Pedro Figuera, offshore executive director of the national oil company, tweeted that Nabarima was complying with environmental protection procedures, » CBS News said

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