The 6,000 barrels of crude oil that spilled last week have already polluted around 20 beaches and caused the death of marine species, while the potential economic effects are worrying, in particular depriving fishermen of all activity.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 2 min.
Let’s fight. The Peruvian government announced on Saturday 22 January a “environmental emergency” 90 days for the coastal area damaged by the spill of 6,000 barrels of crude oil a week ago, an oil spill that continues to spread and despair the inhabitants. Thanks to this measure, the authorities foresee a “sustainable management of affected areas”, with some “recovery and remediation work” to mitigate the consequences of this disaster.
The Peruvian coasts north of Lima were stained with oil that spilled at sea when crude oil was unloaded from a tanker at the La Pampilla refinery, owned by the Spanish company Repsol, in the region of Lima. According to the refinery, the accident which took place on January 15 was caused by a violent swell, following the volcanic eruption in Tonga. The tanker, the Mare Doricum flying the Italian flag, was loaded with 965,000 barrels of crude oil.
For the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, the declaration of emergency is justified by the fact that the oil spill “constitutes a sudden event with a significant impact on the biologically diverse coastal marine ecosystem” and represents a “high risk to public health”. This statement specifies that Repsol is responsible for implementing the immediate and short-term action plan.
For its part, Repsol considers that it should not bear the responsibility for this disaster, pointing out the fact that the Peruvian maritime authorities had not issued a warning about the possible consequences of the eruption in Tonga. The company has nevertheless deployed teams and specialized equipment to combat pollution at sea and on land.
According to the Peruvian authorities, the oil spill is moving with the sea current towards the North, which is endangering the fauna and flora in two protected natural areas, the national reserve of the system of islands and islets. “about 512 hectares” and the protected area of Ancon “on 1,758 hectares”. It has already polluted 21 beaches and caused the death of marine species while its potential economic effects are worrying, in particular depriving fishermen of all activity and leading to the desertion of tourists. Peru demanded damages from Repsol on Wednesday. He gave the Spanish oil group ten days to comply with all cleaning and decontamination actions.