Clean-up efforts focused on containment

Scarborough, Tobago – February 9th, 2024 – The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is intensely focused on containing the ongoing oil spill in Tobago, which continues to pose a severe threat to the island’s environment and economy. In a statement on his Facebook page around 1 a.m. on Friday, February 9th, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine confirmed that crews have been tirelessly assisting with cleanup efforts since Thursday morning.

The crisis stems from the leakage of an oil-like substance from an overturned vessel, first discovered by Lambeau fishermen on Wednesday morning. Augustine emphasized the immediate priority: “We are focused on containment at this time. We are ensuring that important assets are protected by deploying booms.” He noted that the Thursday’s cleanup crew, comprising the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Kaizen International, the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA), Frontier Divers, and the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT), had effectively cordoned off the Port of Scarborough to keep the harbor free from the substance. “The main area for containment will be around the overturned vessel itself, notwithstanding its precarious positioning and the choppy waters in that area.” The Chief Secretary confirmed that samples of the substance were sent to Trinidad for testing, though he believed it to be diesel.

Throughout the previous day’s cleanup and containment exercises, the THA also partnered with key national agencies including the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Maritime Services Division, the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) on Thursday, February 8th, confirmed the oil-like substance emanating from an overturned vessel near Canoe Bay. It noted that TEMA was managing the incident and that an MEEI team had been dispatched to Tobago to assist as desired by TEMA and the THA.

Overturned Vessel Sited in Tobago 

Fishermen in Lambeau first sighted the overturned vessel on Wednesday, February 7th, near Cove Estate. The leaking substance quickly spread, with traces noticed on the shores at Roxborough, Belle Garden, and across the entire southwest coast, even reaching main roads. Mystified fishermen expressed concern that the spill threatened sensitive spawning grounds and had the potential to negatively impact Tobago’s vital fishing industry. At the time, the vessel was stuck approximately 200 meters from the shore.

Operation Gulf StreamDirector of the Tobago Marine Safety and Security Services Ltd, Alvin Douglas, managed to determine the vessel’s name as the “Gulf Stream,” although its origin remained unclear.

At a press conference in Scarborough on Thursday afternoon, Chief Secretary Augustine officially labeled “Operation Gulf Stream” a “Tier Two disaster” requiring immediate national attention. He admitted to an initial lapse in cleanup efforts, explaining, “Because the specialist equipment required for this cleanup was never resident on the island (Tobago) in the first place, that meant that there [was] a lapse [in] time to get it to the island for the kind of work to happen.” He assured the public that proper protocols would be followed to contain the oil spill and minimize environmental harm.

Clean Up at Scarborough

A Call For Greater Autonomy

The unfolding oil spill disaster in Tobago has the potential to escalate to a Tier 3 level, which would trigger a national emergency declaration by the President and shift leadership of cleanup and containment efforts to the Central Government. The Chief Secretary reiterated his call for greater autonomy for Tobago, highlighting the island’s heavy dependence on Trinidad for resources needed to deal with such disasters. “You realise that I keep saying, we have to take the samples, send it to Trinidad. We have to get equipment that we don’t have on island,” he stated, underscoring the challenges faced by the smaller island in managing its affairs independently, a long-standing quest for self-determination.