The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder yesterday cautioned Free National Movement leader Michael Pintard to be mindful “not to make reckless forecasts” as to what may be awarded this jurisdiction for environmental damage in connection to two shipping incidents that took place last year.

He said doing so is not only inappropriate, but also would appear to undermine the judicial function of The Bahamas and further advised the opposition leader against making further comments that could prejudice court actions.

 Mr Pinder’s comments yesterday came in response to Mr Pintard, who on Sunday accused the Davis administration of failing to act on environmental laws and punish polluters.

 Mr Pintard was speaking in reference to the recent sinking of cargo ship Onego Traveller in waters off Abaco and last summer’s spill of more than 30,000 gallons of fuel in Exuma waters.

 The FNM leader claimed that the country stands “to lose up to $60 million in uncollected fines” because of the government’s failure to act and called on Mr Pinder to explain “if he has or why he has not instructed legal action be commenced against the owners of the MT Arabian and MV Onego for environmental damage”.

 In a statement released yesterday, Mr Pinder chided Mr Pintard, saying he ought to know better than suggesting that his office was being idle and not taking the necessary action.

 The Attorney General argued that his team worked “day in and day out” to provide the best legal advice to the Davis-led government which he said “has done more to advance the environmental protection and climate consciousness” than any other administration.

 “The leader of the opposition should do better than to attribute any reference of inaction to the Office of the Attorney General and its attorneys, who day in and day out work to provide the most comprehensive legal advice to the government,” Senator Pinder added.

 “Regarding the scale of damages, the leader of the opposition should be mindful not to make reckless forecasts as to what a judge of the courts of The Bahamas might award. It is not only inappropriate, but would appear to undermine the judicial function of The Bahamas.

 “In this vein, I caution him against any further comments that could prejudice a court action.”

 With respect to last year’s oil spill in Exuma, Mr Pinder said his office has been working in tandem with multiple government agencies, including the Port Department, the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, among others.

 “We have now received final incident reports from all impacted agencies,” he added, “and are concluding witness interviews in preparation for filing appropriate action against the owners and operators of the mv Arabian by the end of the month pursuant to the environmental laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

 As it relates to the December 2022 sinking of the mv Onego Traveller off South Abaco’s coast, Mr Pinder said clean-up efforts remain underway despite being hampered by bad weather.

 “The Office of the Attorney General can advise that Alpha Shipping Company, owner of the MV ONEGO Traveller, has engaged Resolve Marine Company for the removal of the wreck and the wreck is expected to be removed expeditiously.

 “When the Office of the Attorney General receives the final report from the Port Department, the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection and the Department of Environmental Health Services, it will pursue legal recourse available to the government of The Bahamas under the laws of The Bahamas.”

 On December 29, 2022, Onego Traveller sank with heavy fuel onboard.

 The Ministry of Transport and Housing said last week that 3,119 tons of steel coils and 4,505 tons of Ferix in bulk remained submerged, prompting concerns about the sunken ship and its effect on the marine environment.

In July, 35,000 gallons of diesel spilled into waters off an Exuma bay as a vessel contracted by Sun Oil was offloading fuel to Bahamas Power and Light at George Town.

 To date, the government has not paid for any clean up exercises or remediation efforts in reference to these incidents, according to Mr Pinder.