A selfish, elaborate hoax to extort money from Petrotrin.This is how Petrotrin president Khalid Hassanali yesterday described the latest oil spill claim at Otaheite Bay on Christmas Day, after the Environmental Management Authority cleared the state-run oil company of involvement in the alleged oil slick.
In a telephone interview Hassanali said the oil slick appears to have been staged and declared that no compensation will be paid to anyone at Otaheite."I call it an attempt to extort because we have paid compensation in the past where compensation was warranted, but certainly not in this case," Hassanali said.
Yesterday, EMA chairman Dr Allan Bachan said the oil that fishermen at Otaheite Bay encountered on Thursday did not originate from Petrotrin."Based on our preliminary findings, it (the oil spill) was ascertained to be an isolated incident and the spill was not attributable to Petrotrin," Bachan said.
He added that the oil that washed up at Otaheite Bay "has no correlation" with the oil that made its way into the Guaracara River earlier this week from the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery.While Bachan stopped short of saying someone deliberately threw the oil into the ocean, he said, "You can make your assumptions.
"We are saying it is not Petrotrin. It is a third party and it is not attributable to Petrotrin. It is an unfortunate incident, because it continues to have an impact on our aquatic and marine habitat and at the end of the day it's a cause for concern."On Christmas Day, Otaheite fishermen claimed that oil was spotted in the Gulf of Paria just off Otaheite Bay. They said the oil was seen at 6 am and pointed to clumps of oil floating in the water and littered along the shoreline.
Yesterday, Bachan said the oil originated from a third party and the EMA is "following up on some leads based on information received from residents as to the potential source and the investigation continues."He said the public will be advised of the EMA's findings as the investigation proceeds. Bachan said this latest environmental issue strongly stresses the need for the solid/hazardous waste legislation to be effected as quickly as possible.
Hassanali said the company has suspects in mind for the oil slick, but he said Petrotrin has put the matter in the hands of the police and the EMA police.
Don't blame us–fisherfolk
An irate vice president of the Otaheite Fishing Association, Raffick Khan, yesterday denied his colleagues at Otaheite Bay were behind the oil slick. Khan said Petrotrin is trying to point fingers at them because they are displeased with the company's stance on the matter."I feel very terrible about the response that Petrotrin has made on this oil spill. They trying to blame this on someone who is not responsible, who have no knowledge about this at all," he said.
He pointed to steel drums and a metal tank in his front yard, which he said Petrotrin is alleging contained the oil that washed ashore.He opened the drums and showed reporters that they were empty. Khan said the drums and tank were used to store diesel for the four boats that operate out of his yard.
He suggested that the bad weather between Wednesday night and Thursday morning could have dislodged oil that lined the seabed from last December's spill in La Brea and the currents took it to Otaheite.
FISHING BODIESDISTANCE SELVES
Yesterday, on the heels of the EMA chairman's declaration, four fishing groups, including Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, distanced themselves from Thursday's oil spill.The joint statement, signed by Bhadase Sooknanan (Claxton Bay Fishing Association), Micheal Ramnath (Otaheite Fishing Association), Alvin La Borde (La Brea Fishing Association), Terrence Beddoe and Gary Aboud, both of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, condemned the oil spill.
"We have received reliable information that this was an act greed and fraud- of scamps who wanted to make false claims for compensation and that Petrotrin has lodged a report to the police," the groups said.The groups said they "strongly condemn acts of unlawfulness and nonsense of the scamps who dumped oil on the shoreline of Otaheite" and offered their full assistance to all investigative agencies "to find the criminals who committed this act of terror."
The fishing associations urged National Security Minister Gary Griffith to bring the culprits to justice without delay. "We urge the EMA to impose full fines on the (culprits). We urge the police to fully investigate the criminals who are also stealing solar panels, cables, batteries and other movables from the unmanned platforms in the area," the statement added.
Yesterday, Ramnath said the four associations took the decision to distance themselves after footage surfaced of a drum with used oil and oily footprints leading to areas where oil coloured the shoreline.