OPPOSITION Senator Wade Mark has called for an independent forensic expert to examine the circumstances surrounding the oil spill in the waters of Tobago.
Mark made the call during the Opposition’s media briefing yesterday, at the United National Congress (UNC) headquarters, in Chaguanas.
‘How a vessel was able to enter our waters and go undetected? What is the role of the TFG Marine headed by Trafigura? And we also want to know what are the lessons we have to learn to avoid any repetition of this in the future,’ he said.
After 15 days of the incident, he said there were still worrying concerns about the oil spill and vessel.
‘The vessel is still leaking. Oil is still pouring. We are hearing that there are 5,000 metric tonnes of bunker fuel in that particular vessel, and the Prime Minister is jamming,’ he said.
Amid the suffering of the people of Tobago, Mark said there was a refusal to ‘implement Tier Three to get international assistance’.
This assistance, he added, would involve plugging, lifting the vessel, and draining the vessel to stop the leak.
The vessel, Gulfstream, capsized on February 7 off Tobago’s southwestern coast, resulting in an oil spill that affected almost 50 miles (80 kilometers). International assistance is being sought to plug the leak.
CAIMAN CLEANED UP: A small caiman was rescued on Tuesday as part of clean-up efforts following the oil spill in Tobago, which included rescuing and rehabilitating affected wildlife.
