BONAIRE: The Caribbean island of Aruba issued an alert on Tuesday after an oil spill first spotted near Tobago spread to neighboring Bonaire, threatening its mangrove forests and national parks.
Several Caribbean countries have contacted Trinidad and Tobago to coordinate responses as the two-island country’s government struggles to contain an oil spill from a barge that capsized in early February carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil.
“We have divided the territory of Aruba into four sections, so each department is monitoring them,” Rino Hermans, director of Aruba’s Crisis Management Office (CMO), told Reuters. Turtle nesting sites and tourist beaches will be protected, he said.
Aruba’s government plans to activate a 60-member rescue team and a cleanup plan once oil slicks are visible off its shores, the CMO said.
Also read: Indonesia awards presumed Prabowo rank of four-star general
A similar oil spill from Trinidad affected several countries in the Caribbean seven years ago. Hermans said it could be more difficult to resolve because the vessel’s owner and operator have not been identified.
On Monday, Bonaire’s government said the oil posed a “serious threat to people and nature” and that emergency services had been mobilized. Posts by residents and local media on social media showed images of oil-blackened sand, cliffs and birds on some beaches.
The Aruban government is ready to help Bonaire with the cleanup. “At this stage, human resources are needed, not equipment,” Hermans said.
Oil was also found in the territorial waters of Grenada, the island closest to Tobago, the Trinidadian government announced last week.
The Trinidadian government has completed a survey to help it identify any hazards and debris so a support ship can safely work on the overturned boat, it said on Tuesday.
The volume of the spill, origin, intended destination and ownership of the boat remain unknown. But Trinidad said last week that a vessel carrying fuel oil was sailing with a tugboat that could not be found.
