(Reuters) – The Caribbean island of Bonaire said that oil from a spill near neighboring Tobago had reached its shores, posing a “serious threat to both humans and nature”, and that emergency services had been mobilized.
Parts of Bonaire’s east coast, including Sorobon, Lac and Lagun, have been contaminated with oil and vulnerable mangrove, fish and coral ecosystems are at risk, the government said in a statement on Monday.
Social media posts by residents and a radio station showed pictures of oil-stained sand, reefs and birds at some beaches.
“The emergency services are now committed to a rapid and effective cleanup of the oil slicks,” the statement said.
Bonaire, which is reliant on tourism, has not declared a state of emergency but has advised visitors to avoid the polluted locations. There was no immediate information on the size of the slicks that had reached Bonaire’s east coast.
Local media quoted officials as saying that protecting the mangrove-rich area of Lac Bay has been made a priority.
The oil spill from a capsized vessel was first spotted by Trinidad and Tobago’s Coast Guard on Feb. 7 and oil is still leaking, according to authorities. It has blackened Tobago’s coastline and is also threatening to reach Grenada.
A similar incident occurred in 2017. Residual fuel oil from a storage tank at a refinery operated by Trinidad’s state company Petrotrin leaked, spilling about 20,000 gallons and reaching Venezuela’s Los Roques and Isla de Aves islands.
