Opinion
- Editorial
Trinidad
Express :
Tackling
wrecks in Gulf of Paria
Editorial
Very
brave words were coming from the Environmental Management
Authority (EMA) a few days ago. Those responsible
for the recent oil spill in Chaguaramas, once they
are found, will feel the full brunt of the law,
said an EMA official. But there are so many unanswered
questions. By all accounts the particular vessel
involved has been tied up for many years in one
spot, one report suggesting some 15 years.
This
country has had a long history of marine wrecks
in the sheltered waters of the Gulf of Paria. The
first notable ones were the two vessels sunk by
German submarines in the Second World War.
There
were, of course, many sinkings along the north and
east coasts and, after the war, the occasional collisions.
From time to time there have been removal of wrecks
in the harbour but the problem continues, with several
vessels including small coastal ships and barges
simply being abandoned in much the same way that
vehicles are abandoned along the country's roads
and highways.
An
abandoned vessel is in no way different from an
abandoned car or truck, except in its size, and
such vessels do create hazards of one kind or another.
Many are hazards to navigation and most create marine
pollution problems arising from fuels and lubricants,
insulation and cargoes for that matter. The still
waters of the Gulf of Paria and the twice daily
change of tides actually favour retention and only
gradual dispersal of pollutants.
But there is a far more worrying issue. We have
seen the evidence of one public-spirited observer
who has actually made reports to the Office of Disaster
Preparedness and Management (ODPM) that records
several abandoned vessels in the near-shore waters
of the Port of Spain harbour and western peninsula,
all of them hazards to navigation, and many of them
seeping oil into the sea.
Not
only have photographs and names been provided, but
actual GPS coordinates have been given. But this
was since last June! And the ODPM could only request
more details. Surely the ODPM must have some sort
of system for investigation of reports made by responsible
citizens.
Does
the Coast Guard have any role to play? If it does
has it in its routine patrols observed and reported
abandoned vessels? Have routine aerial observations
by the air wing of the National Security Ministry
ever seen and recorded these abandoned vessels and,
more importantly, oil slicks emanating from them?
We
ask these questions for it seems to us that it is
only when there is an incident that the agencies
responsible react, as they did in the recent case
of the sinking of an abandoned ship at Chaguaramas
with the resulting oil spill. Prevention of disaster
is always to be preferred over clean-up. Now, will
the minister responsible answer the questions?
Trinidad &
Tobago Express is one of the
most read newspapers in Trinidad. Petroleumworld
not necessarily share these views.
Editor's
Note: This article was first publish in Trinidad
Express on Saturday, October 28th 2006. Petroleumworld
reprint this article in the interest of our readers.
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Petroleumworld
10/29/06
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