Page 17 - AHATA

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LOCAL Monday 4 March 2024

The CMO calls on the Aruban population to report any oil stains

along the beach shorelines

On February 7th, National As part of the investiga-
Geographic brought for- tion opened for this spill,
ward that Trinidad & To- the Caribbean Community
bago was experiencing (CARICOM) contacted au-
moments of concern in the thorities from Panama and
waters off their southern Aruba to try to confirm the
coast due to a ship of un- origin of this vessel, as well
known origin that had re- as other boats coming
portedly left behind a large from Panama called "Solo
oil spill in the sea. Creed" heading towards
Guyana, allegedly towing
The Trinidad & Tobago the "Gulfstream" ship, as
Coast Guard detected this indicated by the France24
spill for the first time on that website.
day, located 6 kilometers
off the Studley Park coast, It was also ensured that
according to Farley Augus- "satellite images showed
tine, the chief secretary of Solo Creed towing an ob-
the Tobago National As- ject on February 4th, 2024. aid personnel and cleaning constant leakage, as re- balls coming ashore in the
sembly, as indicated in a The National Coastal Sur- staff, to address the oil spill ported by Venezuelan me- next few days; CMO calls
press conference. veillance Radar Center situation if it were to reach dia, which also raises the on the population to report
(NCSRC) could use this in- the Aruban coast, which alarm that spills persist and any oil stains they may see,
From that moment on, bar- formation to monitor the indeed occurred last Sat- complicate the situation in even if they are located in
riers were installed to try ship in the waters of Trini- urday, March 2nd, where this area. remote areas. To report this,
to stop the spill, which by dad & Tobago," according tar balls were detected in you can send an email to:
February 14th had already to the text from the Ministry a known location by CMO. Through a press release, cmo@crisis.aw
spread to a 12-kilometer of National Security of Trini- It's not a very serious situa- CMO informed the com-
line. One thousand volun- dad & Tobago, which also tion like in other countries, munity that from the mo- Immediate cleaning ac-
teers are trying to protect stated that the NCSRC lost but it's necessary to stay ment they received reports tions will take place if the
the areas to isolate the tox- radar contact with these alert as Prime Minister Ev- about the oil reaching the patch of tar balls is located
ic material and evaluate two vessels. elyn Wever-Croes stated. coast of Bonaire, Aruba in areas where the public
its impact on marine and intensified its alert level to lands, and also if it is locat-
wildlife, where Prime Min- On Aruba, on February However, it's possible that Orange Code, and an In- ed where turtles lay eggs
ister Keith Rowley pointed 26th, the Crisis Manage- they come from the inci- cident Management Team or use them for nesting.
out that this is "a national ment Office (CMO) an- dent in Trinidad and To- was immediately estab- However, all tar patches on
emergency." nounced that Aruba had bago, it's also possible that lished following the oil spill cliffs will remain if they pose
transitioned from yellow to they came via the route of control plan (OILIE). no risk to humans or ani-
After authorities managed orange code regarding the barges between Jamaica mals, as informed by CMO.
to identify the ship "Gulf- oil spill incident in Trinidad and Trinidad through oil Aruba intensified its efforts
stream," where diving bells & Tobago. In this regard, tankers, they said. One of to scout the coast by di- The Regional Emergency,
were able to see the name the director of CMO, Rino the pictures is of the ship in viding it into five sectors, Information, and Training
on one side of the ship al- Hermans, declared to the Trinidad & Tobago. where intensive exploration Center for Marine Pollution
legedly causing the spill, international press that the is taking place by different in the Caribbean (Rac-
without giving further de- Aruban Government had Tar balls are formed when agencies such as DNM, Rempeitc Caribbean) is
tails. plans to activate a team highly viscous crude inter- FPNA, DOW, hotels under one of the four Regional
of 60 people, including first acts with water; the spill the leadership of ATA un- Activity Centers of the Ca-
from Tobago cannot be der Cluster 8, and the Har- ribbean Environmental Pro-
the origin of these tar balls. bor Master. gram CAR/PAP established
They're more likely from il- in 1995. It counts on experts
legal oil discharge near They also pointed out that in the field affiliated volun-
the coast of Aruba. Pos- tar balls can be expected tarily to the signatory states
sibly from ships sailing to in the coming weeks, but of the Cartagena Conven-
Venezuela to carry or seek recent scouting and infor- tion Oil Spill Protocol of the
crude. Another possibility is mation, as well as the Rapid United Nations via the Unit-
an oil spill from Lake Mara- EMS Mapping to outline the ed Nations Environmental
caibo, where oil spills are waiting impact area, sug- Program regional office in
very common due to all gest that most of the stains Kingston, Jamaica. Aruba
facilities and pipelines be- have passed Aruba. How- is also a signatory to this
ing in poor condition and ever, there may still be tar treaty and its protocols.