Legal action once oil spill ship owners identified

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2 hours ago

ENERGY Minister Stuart Young says the government will take legal action against the owners of vessels involved in the February 7 oil spill off the southeast coast of Tobago, once the identity of the these people will be clearly established.

He made the statement in the Senate on June 11, in response to a question from independent Senator Paul Richards.

“Once ownership is established, this government will take legal action against the alleged owners of the Gulfstream barge and/or the owner of the Solo Creed tugboat.”

The Solo Creed is believed to have towed the Gulfstream before it overturned on a reef off the coast of Tobago on February 7, causing the oil spill.

Young said: “We will continue to use all of our relationships and resources, including an independent satellite provider, to attempt to determine the owner(s) of the vessels.

Government efforts to locate the owners of these vessels have included collaboration between the Coast Guard and other regional security entities such as Caricom Impacs and communication with other countries to obtain information on identity and location where the ship owners are located.

Young said the Ministry of Works and Transportation's Maritime Services Division, which is also involved in the search for the owners of the two vessels, was recently contacted by a Nigerian lawyer who claimed to represent the owner of the Gulfstream and the Solo Creed .

“The Maritime Services Division is currently reviewing the validity of these claims, having initiated an investigation with the Nigerian Government. However, at this time, there is reasonable suspicion regarding this particular claim and correspondence.”

To date, Young said the search for the Solo Creed has been unsuccessful because the tugboat has not reactivated its automatic identification system since Feb. 7.

“However, recently there were reports of the arrest of the Solo Creed in Angola. Immediately, the government sent official correspondence to the Angolan government seeking information confirming whether the tugboat had indeed been arrested. This line of inquiry is continued.

Young said at a recent meeting of the UK-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF) in London that it has become clear that the Gulfstream and Solo Creed are part of 'a network of rogue ships that attempt to operate outside the law to avoid detection. .

The government has asked the IOPC Fund to access a certain level of funding to cover some of the costs it and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) have incurred in dealing with the oil spill.

Regarding efforts to remove any remaining fuel from the Gulfstream, Young said the ship will still have 11,000 barrels of fuel on board.

He added that, given weather and sea conditions, it is hoped the Gulfstream will be fully decanted by the end of July.

Young also said efforts are underway to identify the type of fuel to determine the source.