Guyanese team was on standby to assist Tobago with oil spill response

Last Updated on Saturday, 17 February 2024, 12:48 by Denis Chabrol

A Guyanese multi-sectoral team was on standby to assist Tobago with an oil-spill clean response following an incident there involving a barge and a tug, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said Saturday.

He said Guyana had planned to join an effort by sister Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations to mitigate the impact of the oil spill that has severely affected marine biodiversity including sections of Tobago’s coastline.

The five-member team was expected to be made up of Director-General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Colonel Nazrul Hussain; CDC Preparedness and Response Manager, Major Laksham Persaud; CDC Operations Officer Major Sheldon Williams; Retired Coast Guard Captain, John Flores of the Maritime Administration Department, and Head of the Oil and Gas Department of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Joel Gravesande.

The Guyana government, under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister, had informed the Trinidad and Tobago government that that the team would “support activities to be carried out by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPDEM) in connection with this incident.”

The Foreign Secretary said the Guyanese team would have also seized the opportunity to acquire “some exposure to a real scenario”, backed up by Trinidad and Tobago’s established resources.

The government official said the team had been expected to be in Tobago from February 18 to 22.

Trinidad and Tobago authorities had said that a barge and a tugboat were involved in an accident last week, triggering a massive oil spill on February 7.

Trinidad and Tobago authorities said the oil leaked from a barge, “Gulf Stream”, was being towed by a tug, the “Solo Creed” from Panama.