The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Transport and Local Government has confirmed that a privately contracted Trinidadian salvage team will begin, within the next ten days, the removal and relocation of a supplies barge grounded in Long Island earlier this month.

In a press release issued on Sunday, officials suggested the barge's owner, R R Caribbean Marine Operators of Trinidad, was preparing a salvage team to remove the barge off the shore, and to transport the same for dry dock repairs.

That release also said an "insignificant amount" of diesel escaped from the barge into the water, There are "no oil contaminants" on board.

The claim directly contradicts all previous reports on the matter.

It was initially speculated that more than 50 gallons of fuel were dumped in the water near central Long Island following the grounding of the barge.

At the time of its discovery, Long Island MP Adrian Gibson said the barge appeared to be carrying approximately 7,000 gallons of fuel, along with relief supplies, heavy machinery, cell phone towers, utility poles, bucket trucks, and a crane.

The items were earmarked for St Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, Mr Gibson said.

Sunday's release from the ministry stated: "It was determined that an insignificant amount of diesel oil escaped from oil containers on the grounded vessel into the water. The public may be assured that the Port Department has been in consistent contact with the owner of the grounded vessel, and has received documented assurances that the company will assume responsibility for all required clean up of the area."

The release added that both the EMRAD Division of the Department of Environmental Health Services and the Port Department have completed initial reports into the incident, and there is no evidence of any environmental damage to the waters off Gray's, Long Island, or to the shoreline.

However, according to the Ministry of Transport and Local Government, enquiries continue.

The release continued: "Currently, the owner is preparing a salvage team to remove the barge off the shore, and to transport the same for dry dock repairs. While there is a small amount of debris wedged between the barge and the shoreline, there are no oil contaminants on board the stranded vessel, and the owner has provided private security to secure the remaining equipment that is onboard, in accordance with the Port Department's instructions."

"The owner has mobilised his own salvage team out of Trinidad to remove the barge, which will be undertaken under the supervision of the Port Department, in accordance with the port's salvage protocols. The operation is scheduled to commence in approximately 10 days' time."

In the days that followed the discovery of the barge, according to claims by residents and environmental activists on the ground in Long Island, poor communication and government directives sidelined salvage teams and local resources attempting to secure, analyse and remediate any long-term issues stemming from the incident.

Last Wednesday, residents interviewed by The Tribune insisted intervention was prohibited for more than 72 hours, a move many said "made a bad situation worse".

Those claims came after Transport and Aviation Minister Frankie Campbell told his parliamentary colleagues he was "satisfied" that the matter was being adequately addressed.