The United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has urged "immediate actions" to prevent a potentially catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Paria, off the coast of Venezuela. There lies a tilting ship, the Venezuelan-flagged Nabarima - a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) facility, which has been sat idle off the Venezuelan coast since January 2019 and is reportedly undergoing repairs. How catastrophic could this oil spill be? To put it into perspective, the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill, which is widely considered the worst in history by the amount of environmental damage done, involved around 10.8 million gallons of crude oil. The Nabarima contains about 80 million gallons (1.3 million barrels). Recent photos allegedly show the FSO vessel floating at an incline, raising fears that it could spill its load into the Gulf of Paria, leading to devastation of the regional fishing industry and delicate ecosystems. The Nabarima is operated by the Petrosucre company, a joint venture between the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the Italian Eni oil giant. Petrosucre froze oil extraction in January 2019 after being sanctioned by U.S President Donald Trump's administration. The U.S Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago released a statement on Friday (16th October 2020) expressing its unease at the Nabarima's situation. "The United States remains concerned by the potential risk to safety and environment posed by the Venezuelan-flagged vessel, Nabarima, in the Gulf of Paria," the statement said. "We strongly support immediate actions to bring the Nabarima up to international safety standards and avoid possible environmental harm, which could negatively impact not only the Venezuelan people but also those in nearby countries. PDVSA has a responsibility to take action to avoid an environmental disaster in Venezuelan waters." The U.S Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago said Friday that its call to action regarding the Nabarima is in keeping with its pressure on the Maduro Government. "As a general matter, the United States' Venezuela sanctions program is not designed to target activities addressing safety, environmental, or humanitarian concerns," the Embassy said. "These activities to avert an ecological disaster are consistent with U.S policy to support the Venezuelan people and avoid further harm to the environment." See the full statement below from the U.S Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago: Statement on Nabarima An unnamed source "familiar with the matter" told Reuters the ship was leaning to one side in order to allow the crew to replace its valves. Italian oil giant Eni said Friday that the company was now trying to unload the crude oil aboard and had asked the U.S for a "green light" to do so "in order to prevent any sanctions risk." Gary Aboud, the Corporate Secretary of Trinidadian environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), told Reuters: "If this thing flips we will all pay the consequences for decades to come. This should be a red alert." What is the T&T Government doing about this potential environmental disaster? Despite recent criticism of inaction in this matter, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago released the following statement on Friday: Since learning of reports that there had been tilting of the Venezuelan oil storage vessel the FSO Nabarima, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has engaged in consistent action in the best interest of our citizens. There was swift communication of our concerns to the Government of Venezuela on behalf of our people and our environment. This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates. [Source]
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