- Tobago oil spill spreads to Grenada waters and could affect Venezuela
An oil spill that has stained Tobago’s coastline in the Caribbean is entering Grenada’s waters and could affect neighboring Venezuela, authorities have warned.
Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago’s coastguard first spotted the oil from an overturned and abandoned barge, the vessel continues to leak fuel, and portions of the stain have moved about 144km (89 miles) into the Caribbean Sea at a rate of 14km/h.
“It has now entered Grenada’s territorial waters,” said Tobago’s chief secretary, Farley Augustine, following a fly-over by Trinidad and Tobago’s air guard.
Augustine said the situation was now under control with a 40ft perimeter supported by booms around the wreckage, but said fuel continued to leak from the sunken vessel.
“We are unable to plug the leak and unless we have information on how much fuel is in the barge or what exactly it contains we cannot move forward, except containment and skimming,” he added.
Before and after satellite images compiled by the Guardian and superimposed on one another showed the scale of the spill on the Tobago coastline, leaving large areas dyed black.
Before and after satellite images provided by Sentinel Hub shows the scale of damage (Sentinel Hub)
Authorities in Grenada, Panama, Aruba and Guyana have been contacted by Trinidad and the regional group Caricom for information as part of an investigation into the disaster.
A preliminary investigation found that the barge, whose owner and origin have not been confirmed, was being tugged to nearby Guyana.
