MV Gulfstream is a capsized unpowered 449-foot (137 m) 60,000 bbl (9,500 m3) double-hulledbarge, part of an articulated tug and barge system, without a registration number. The vessel capsized on 7 February 2024 and was abandoned by the crew. It caused a huge spillage of oil in the Caribbean Sea.[1]
History
In February 2024, the barge, carrying an estimated 35,000 barrels of fuel oil, capsized after running aground on a reef some 150 metres (490 ft) off the south coast of Tobago.[2][3] The circumstances of the capsizing are not yet clear.[4] The oil spill has spread to Grenada and could potentially affect Venezuela.[5]
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago confirmed the situation and considered declaring a national emergency.[6] It has reportedly affected the fishing and tourism industries.[7] The National Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) said that the oil spill had affected around 15 kilometres (9 miles) of the coastline.[8] Emergency workers were sent to run a major clean up operation.[9] Authorities are attempting to pinpoint the ship's origin.[10]
Farley Augustine, the Chief Secretary of Tobago, said: 'We need those responsible to come clean and we need those responsible to know that they have to pay for this mess, that they are culpable as part of this mess'.[11]
This reportedly threatens an environmental catastrophe.[12] According to Bellingcat, the barge may have started leaking oil on 7 February.[1] The identity and whereabouts of the tug that was hauling the barge are not yet known.[2] By 28 February, oil began to wash ashore on Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles.[13] These beaches are hundreds of miles away from where the ship capsized.[14]
