By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
Contributor
November 10, 2020
It’s been three months since news got out that an oil tanker located in the Gulf of Paria, south west of Trinidad was taking in water. The FSO Nabarima, a stationary vessel used for storing fuel for Venezuela, became a source of heightened concern in recent days as the ship is now positioned at a precarious angle from weeks gone by when last checked.
While concerns expressed have been met with much dismissal by the Maduro regime, stating they have provided support to the vessel in restoring its stability, a video going viral over the weekend shows contrary, and just how much the tanker is at risk of sinking, posing the disastrous threat of some 1.4 million barrels of crude oil leaking into the sea.
Gary Aboud, Fisherman and Friends of the Sea spokesman, who took the vide, who braved the Venezuelan waters aboard a tiny boat, shows the tanker tilted towards the water at a twenty-five-degree angle and with its anchor chains on strain. Mr Aboud warned of possible bad weather, citing that we were still in the hurricane season and any weather changes could have a negative effect on the tanker’s ability to stay afloat.
On Tuesday October 20, Trinidad and Tobago’s energy minister, Franklin Khan, sent out a team to investigate the health of the vessel, prompting him to give the assurance there was nothing to be worried about, and that another visit to the ship was not necessary, at least not for another month. It is said the prolonged wait to conduct investigations on Trinidad’s part was based on the T&T Energy Ministry awaiting permission from Venezuelan authorities to board the vessel, the same authorities which have gone on record as to deny the validity of the claims on the vessel’s condition.
However, just what are the risks being taken here and what laws are in place to safe guard the Caribbean known for being a premier tourist destination, from suffering such a fate. Environmentalists put the possible disaster at being five times worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, an area still reeling from thirty years after the incident.
Notwithstanding the tanker being owned by the Venezuelan state, and its neighbours wanting to thread carefully with their relations, one must look at the powers that Caribbean states hold as a sole entity through CARICOM, or lay the responsibility on the government of Trinidad and Tobago, to intervene and ensure this is not done. Current agreements between the Latin American state and CARICOM focus mainly on trade and investment, with little or nothing to address environmental threats such as these.
Maritime agreements between Venezuela and the twin island republic, Trinidad and Tobago, date back to 1942 Boundary Treaty to the more recent 1989 Bilateral Oil Spill Contingency Plan which dictates that in the event of any environmental threat, both nations would work amicably to ensure it is mitigated.
Trinidad and Tobago remains a signatory to several international maritime conventions on managing oil spills, including the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (FUND) 1992 signed on to in 2000.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has given its assurance that no sanctions would arise from assisting Venezuela in mitigating a humanitarian or environmental disaster. In the same breath, the US Embassy’s issued statement also expressed grave concern over the vessel and prompted Venezuelan Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA) officials to take responsibility and to also act swiftly in handling the matter.
Venezuela is said to have brought one of its other tankers, Icaro, to assist in transferring its fuel cargo, while it commences attempts to stabilize the vessel.
The Icaro, a Panamanian oil tanker, does not come without its fair share of problems as it’s a much smaller vessel and also faces US Sanctions making the transfer of crude oil a little trickier, as it requires permission to conduct these operations. Currently it is docked not too far off from the FSO Nabarima awaiting the green light to commence the transaction, an exercise which is expected to take between 30 to35 days to complete.
If an oil spill were to occur, the damage would claim the livelihoods of many fishermen that thrive off harvesting seafood from the Gulf of Paria, not to mention the ecosystem of not only neighbouring Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, but to tourism destinations up the Caribbean island chain.
Pristine beaches with coral reefs, exotic species of fish and other wildlife unique to Caribbean waters stand to be annihilated. In the midst of a pandemic, where tourist-based industries are already the hardest hit, all Caribbean nations now have an additional threat to its existence if this happens.
For Trinidad too much is at stake as the Gulf of Paria holds the access point to all of its ports, as its calm waters provides a sanctuary hub for all its imports and exports. If such a disaster were to occur, all marine freight entering the country will cease, this includes import on fuel, food, and other vital supplies. Transport via its inter-island ferries, as well as its Water Taxi service between its cities will come to a halt.
In the most recent comments on the matter, Trinidad’s Energy Minister, Franklin Khan has reiterated that upon his team’s visit, there remains no threat of that nature, never the less, they were continuing to monitor the situation with vigilance, while Dr Amery Browne, foreign affairs minister, says releasing the pictorial findings of the team would not be shared, as it remains sensitive materials to Venezuela and security to its petrochemical industry.
