Hello,
Countries in the Caribbean have been struggling with an environmental disaster this week as first responders and volunteers from Trinidad and Tobago sought to contain a major oil spill.
A week after an oil spill was first spotted near Tobago’s shore, portions of the slick are moving in opposite directions into the Caribbean Sea, the island’s emergency management agency (TEMA) said, putting the country’s neighbors on alert.
First responders and volunteers have been trying to contain the spill , which is emerging from a vessel that had capsized, to avoid impacting a nearby cruise ship port, Trinidad and Tobago’s government has said. But the leak has not been plugged.
Barriers have been installed to contain the spill and protect the Scarborough port in Tobago, used by cruise ships, especially during the current Carnival high season.
First responders have been focused on containing the spill as tides change, protecting surrounding areas, cleaning beaches, deploying divers, isolating toxic material and assessing its impact on wildlife, according to officials and media reports.
Satellite images and models suggest that waves might be taking some of the spill into the Caribbean Sea past northern Venezuela, increasing the risk that the oil impacts other beaches in Trinidad and Tobago that have coral reefs, and even other countries’ coasts, TEMA’s director Allan Stewart told Reuters.
