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Rogue vessels without insurance, proper documentation operating in maritime industry – T&T Energy Minister
Kaieteur News – The recent oil spill which took place off the shores of Tobago has led to a full-fledged investigation by the government of the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
T&T Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young during a recent press conference
With the assistance of the United States and Canada, the country has been digging deeper into the circumstances that led to the overturned vessel in Tobago which resulted in at least 35,000 barrels of fuel polluting the environment. Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young during a press conference last week in Trinidad said he recently visited London to convince the Board of the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund to provide assistance to Tobago for cleaning up the leaked fuel from the mysterious barge.
According to the Minister, “It became apparent that there is an industry that is taking place out there globally in the maritime industry where you have these rogue vessels and these rogue owners who are doing exactly what the owners of the Solo Creed and the Gulf Stream did, which is they are not submitting proper documentation, they are not submitting proper ownership, may or may not have insurance, may or may not be transporting legal or illegal fuel.”
Furthermore, the TT Energy Minister said the capsized vessel in Tobago may have received fuel from Venezuela which was destined to Guyana. According to him, “The vessels were on the way to Guyana and we have from the authorities in Guyana a request by the Solo Creed for pilots to come and assist them into Guyana during the period where it actually turned up on the shores in Tobago so we are pursuing all of the leads that we have.”
This new development and discovery by Trinidad’s Energy Minister, regarding the operation of rogue vessels could spell further trouble for this oil-rich nation, now producing over 645,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). While Guyana is now producing a large quantity of crude oil, the hydrocarbons are all exported to other destinations for refinery as the country has not yet established a downstream industry.
This means that Guyana is not only a large exporter of oil, but also imports all the fuel it needs, thereby bringing into question the inspections being conducted by the local Maritime Administration (MARAD) and associated regulatory bodies to ensure the ships are insured, properly inspected and certified to meet all the necessary standards.
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