The mystery of the overturned barge near Cove, Tobago, and its missing-in-action tug has thickened. Nearly two weeks after oil first washed up on Tobago’s shores, one maritime law expert is challenging the name of the capsized barge that was visually identified as “Gulfstream” by divers.
Attorney-at-law Nyree Alfonso, who has been a civil litigator specialising in marine insurance and maritime law for over 30 years, says based on her investigation, “the name that is coming up is ‘Coolie Boy’, a fairly common term in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago as well.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of National Security said last week that the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard had acquired information that showed both the barge and tug were heading to Guyana, with the tug passing through Panama in transit.
In response to the release, Guyana’s vice president, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, said his country should not be held accountable for Tobago’s oil spill disaster, as it was caused by a vessel en route to Guyana.
Alfonso agreed yesterday, stating that while a Guyanese entity may have owned the barge, that did not mean Guyana would be the party responsible for the Tobago oil spill.
She explained, “The barge cannot move on its own. The barge is like a wheelbarrow. The person pushing a wheelbarrow will either knock you down or go around to you, as the case may be. And a wheelbarrow cannot, on its own, make a manoeuvre to stop, go forward, or go backward. In most accidents involving tugs and barges, liability falls on the towing tug because that is where the manoeuvrability of the tow is controlled, from the wheelhouse of the tug.”
Alfonso said this is why finding the tug, Solo Creed, was crucial because the entity that owns the tug, not the barge, will likely be responsible for compensating T&T for the environmental disaster.
“The other tragedy of this unfortunate event is that Trinidad and Tobago are not signatories to the international convention that deals with pollution in the seas,” Alfonso said.
She explained that T&T signed onto the International Convention Relating to Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 but they were not subsequently incorporated into local law.
She said, “If you’re a signatory to the oil pollution convention, then a fund would be created by the offending vessel, the owners of the offending vessel, or the P&I club of the offending vessel, and that would be available to make good the losses sustained.”
Guardian Media has sent questions to the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Works and Transport to confirm Alfonso’s research but did not receive a response up to press time.
Grenada still monitoring spill
What is now known as possible fuel oil or marine diesel continuing to spill off the coast of Tobago, travelling into the Caribbean Sea and through Grenada’s territorial waters, is being closely monitored by the island known for its spices and pristine beaches.
Grenada’s National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) confirmed yesterday that “there are no reports of the spilled oil reaching close to the shores of Grenada, but NaDMA will remain vigilant as the movement of the oil is dependent on weather and sea conditions.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs sent a statement to the government of Grenada on February 17th detailing the latest on the oil spill.
Grenada’s government was informed that “preliminary laboratory testing by the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) of Trinidad and Tobago, indicate that the samples are characteristic of a refined oil, possibly a fuel oil or marine diesel. Additional samples are being collected for further analyses.”
However, the statement added, “The estimated quantity of oil onboard the overturned vessel has not yet been confirmed.”
T&T informed Grenada that the country has “engaged regional and international entities with the clean-up efforts” and T&T is “willing to provide resources, where possible, to Grenada to assist with clean-up efforts if it becomes necessary.”
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management in T&T has also confirmed to NaDMA that while the overturned vessel off Cove, Tobago, continues to leak oil, “the current quantities are less.”
Within Grenada, the Oil Spill Committee, a sub-committee of the National Emergency Advisory Council of NaDMA, continued collaborating with regional and international partners to monitor the situation.
In another statement, NaDMA said, “The committee recognises that an impact of the oil spill on the shores of Grenada will require significant response resources. Therefore, all local resources have been placed on standby, and regional and international partners have been alerted of the need for additional resources if necessary.”
The latest satellite images analysed by NaDMA revealed that the oil has continued to move west of Tobago, then in a northwest direction toward Grenada’s maritime territory, then westward through Venezuela’s maritime area.
NaDMA said the latest satellite image suggests the closest point the oil was located at was more than 30 nautical miles south-southwest of Point Salines, Grenada.
TEMA continues
clean-up efforts
New Tiger Tank Frac tanks arrived in Tobago on Sunday to temporarily store the oil captured from Tobago’s waters through skimmers. These frac tanks have been used over the last week in Tobago and are housed at Cove Eco-Industrial Business Park.
The Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) has been using primary and secondary booms to control the oil spilling out of the overturned barge near Cove, Tobago, and skimmers to capture the oil.
TEMA has also advised that there are several road closures to facilitate oil clean-up. These areas include the corner of Cemetery Street and Milford Road, the corner of the Lambeau Village Street and Milford Road, and Hampden Lambeau Road from the Lambeau Fish Market to the Magdalena Hotel back entrance.