00:00Fisherman and Friends of the Sea suspects that oil is being illegally dumped onto marine vessels lying in a graveyard in Chagaramas.
00:08It is now seeping out and polluting the surrounding waters.
00:12The non-governmental organization is calling on the authorities, including the government, to take action to resolve the problem.
00:19Reporter Lise Boucher and cameraman Brandon Benoit bring you the details.
00:23Having outlived their usefulness, these maritime vessels have been discarded and left to rot in the waters off the coast of Chagaramas.
00:32While this has long been a problem causing environmental concerns, it is now suspected that a graveyard for the relic ships is being used for the illegal dumping of oil.
00:42The claim comes from Secretary of Fisherman and Friends of the Sea, Gary Abood, who says he began receiving calls from people about oil in the waters of Chagaramas about two weeks ago.
00:53Upon inspecting the area last Tuesday, he made a discovery.
00:57This is 12 feet of oil. You can see this. I brought this to show you because...
01:05So you're talking about an approximate maybe 1,000, 2,000 barrels of oil.
01:11All of these vessels in here we boarded, but in this one we found it very suspicious in that it was parked next to an oil tanker barge that is used to specialize in removing waste oil from ships.
01:27Now it's very expensive to take waste oil and to have it properly repurposed, but it's much cheaper just to dump it in the sea or to dump it in a derelict vessel.
01:37That is what Abood is suggesting has been done with a fishing vessel he states was abandoned in Chagaramas in 2013 by an American company.
01:47They bring the pump and they bring it up here and they dump it in there, but there's no reason why oil should leave this hole and go all the way over here.
01:57Abood tells us he engaged a person who is allegedly committing the act.
02:01When I spoke to him, he told me he doesn't moor his boat here, but the fishermen tell me the boat has been here for years.
02:08So there's a sense of dishonesty in the way things are going so far.
02:11What we hope to do is we hope to make an appeal to our government and our cabinet that they would change the law and they would incarcerate the criminal elements who are doing this.
02:23The last time any culprit was charged was petrotrin.
02:26This honourable government charged petrotrin $20 million for a major degradation where oil spilt in libraries, some 7,000 barrels, the effect of which we still feel today.
02:37Frida Tezzadi, FFOS, says other aspects of the law need amending.
02:40Because the legislation doesn't allow us, doesn't command our government sufficient authority to charge these derelict companies.
02:48So all we can do is shame them and we will.
02:51We came and we dived here looking for fish.
02:53Here there's nothing living.
02:55The one drop of oil has an everlasting impact on the ecosystem.
03:00There is a concern that hydrocarbons can contaminate fish in the area, which is utilised by fishermen.
03:06On the way back from the site, Abboud encountered a Coast Guard vessel with persons aboard, who identified themselves as being from the Institute of Marine Affairs.
03:16He verbally reported the issue and urged the IMA to take action.
03:20If you take a fingerprint of that vessel, you could call me.
03:24I will give you the name of the vessel.
03:25Abboud also signalled his intention to the media to again speak to the suspected perpetrator and also to lay reports with the Environmental Management Authority and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
03:38Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:40Well, in response, the Environmental Management Authority says it has received complaints accompanied by video footage of what it calls an oily sheen on the surface of the water at Escondido Bay in Chagaramus, near the site of the derelict vessels.
03:56According to the EMA, the issue of wrecks and abandoned vessels falls within the purview of the Maritime Services Division of the Ministry of Works and Transport.
04:05The EMA states that it received information from the Ministry that an inspector was sent to the area, and further to that, the IMA visited the site on June 4th.
04:15The EMA indicates that its investigation is being coordinated with the other agencies, including the Ministry of Energy, and in addition, it will continue to monitor the situation to ensure proper action is taken to safeguard human health and the environment.
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