00:00Contrary to reports circul
00:04media, there is in fact n
00:07this vessel. The crew has
00:09the hull is completely in
00:12are doing now is simply t
00:15from the ship onto a barge
00:18the vessel. They say that
00:21this process in about 24 h
00:25make the trip back to St.
00:29the ground in Trinidad and
00:31Tobago's waters just off
00:33on Tuesday. The crew of the
00:35Hine cargo vessel, which was
00:37transporting construction
00:39to St. Vincent, is receiving
00:41support from both private and
00:43public local agencies,
00:45including the Maritime Services
00:47division. Once the vessel's
00:49gun is brought above water
00:51level, cargo will be reposition
00:53to the starboard side to
00:55achieve proper trim and balance.
00:57Proactive environmental
00:59information measures are in
01:01place. A local service provider
01:03is engaged to boom around the
01:05vessel as a precautionary
01:07safeguard. At present, there are
01:09no visual indications of oil
01:11or pollution in the surrounding
01:13waters. Local navigational
01:15safety teacher Captain Ronald
01:17Wald gives some insight into
01:19reflow to reflow to the vessel. The vessel
01:23will take some time to offload the
01:25amount of tonnage that's required
01:28to refloat the vessel. They'll be
01:31taking the, I assume they'll be
01:33taking most of the cargo from
01:35the port side. So when the vessel
01:37does refloat, it will become close
01:40to stable, but it won't be leveled. The
01:43ship will need to be towed out. The stern
01:46will need to be pulled out first and
01:50to seaward to clear the rudder and
01:53the propeller from the rocks. A
01:55representative from the Hine told
01:57TV6 News the crew is being ably
02:00supported by the local authorities.
02:02While at sea, we witnessed members
02:04of the Coast Guard transporting
02:06personnel to the vessel. Meantime,
02:08some locals volunteered their vessel
02:10for humanitarian relief. We're just
02:12going to get some food for them and
02:14make sure they're all right. You know,
02:16it's friends. So I want to make sure
02:18they're all right. Food, food and
02:21water. We're just going to help them
02:23out. Yeah, whatever the assistance
02:25they need, you know. That's the only
02:27news, so there we are. While a crisis
02:30was averted this time around,
02:32President of the Maritime Services
02:34Association, Jesse James, is urging
02:37government to put measures in place
02:39to adequately respond to potential oil
02:41spill threats. I know the
02:43threats. I know we do have a plan,
02:46but it's on pen and paper. How well
02:49should this, let's say, for example,
02:51God forbid if this had turned out to be
02:53a real oil spill and a disaster and
02:55whatever, how well are we able to
02:58respond to something like that? And
03:00can we really respond to something like
03:02that? I'm sorry to say, but from
03:04past experience, um, response to oil
03:07spills has not been very good.
03:10President of Fishermen and Friends of the
03:12Sea, Gary Aboud, is expressing relief
03:15that the situation has been contained
03:17after witnessing some hydrocarbons in
03:19the water just after the incident.
03:21However, he's calling for the same
03:23emergency to be brought to the
03:25situation involving the vast number of
03:27vessels which have been abandoned in
03:29TNT's waters. It's a successful operation.
03:34Everything that I think it could be done is being done.
03:37Um, we just had several government agencies
03:40just bought the vessel. There are about 30 workers
03:43on the vessel moving the load, the cranes
03:45are working. So I think this has been a very
03:47positive response. What we're hoping for is that we
03:50can get the same type of attention to the derelict
03:54vessel where the corporate billionaire is throwing waste
04:00oil into the vessel. Um, that to me is a more
04:04serious issue than this one. This one we out of the woods.
04:07Thank God Trinidad and Tobago is safe.
04:10Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
Comments