The state oil company Petroperu spilled a shipment of crude oil into nearby Pacific Ocean waters last weekend, prompting the Peruvian government to declare an environmental emergency in the northern coastal region on Thursday.
The spill occurred on Saturday at a terminal of Peru’s Talara refinery in northern Peru as a result of a vessel performing pre-shipment maneuvers.
Although the amount of crude spilled into the sea has not been disclosed by Petroperu, OEFA, Peru’s environmental watchdog, stated in a preliminary report that it has impacted at least seven beaches, local wildlife, and approximately 10,000 square meters of surface seawater.
The goal of the 90-day emergency, according to Peru’s environment ministry, is to “guarantee the sustainable management of the area and the execution of recovery and remediation works to mitigate environmental contamination.”
In order to allow local economic and tourism activities to resume as usual, Petroperu said on Wednesday that it had sent out cleanup crews as soon as the spill occurred and had worked with the local government and fishermen’s union.
According to a statement from Petroperu, it keeps drones, boats, and cleaning staff in the impacted area to “carry out preventive monitoring to guarantee the early detection of any eventuality.”
Fishermen claim the spill has prevented them from working, while local officials claim it has harmed coastal plants and animals like crabs.
Fisherman Martin Pasos told local radio station RPP, “We haven’t been able to go out for six days now.”” What transpired in Lobitos is chaos. The oil company has not responded to us as of yet.
