"Trinidad And Tobago Cleans Up Beaches Following 12-Kilometer Oil Spill"

"First responders and volunteers from Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday sought to contain an oil spill detected last week in the Caribbean country's waters and clean areas of Tobago island's coast already affected by the incident.

Trinidad and Tobago's coast guard first spotted the spill on Feb. 7, about 6 kilometers off the coast of Studley Park, the chief secretary of Tobago's national assembly, Farley Augustine, said in a press conference on Sunday.

Barriers have been installed to contain the spill, which earlier this week had already spread in a 12-kilometer (7.5 mile) line, and protect the Scarborough port in Tobago, used by cruise ships, especially during high season as current Carnival.

First responders have been focused on containing the spill as tides change, protecting surrounding areas, cleaning beaches, deploying divers, isolating toxic material and assessing its impact to wildlife, according to officials and media reports."

Marianna Parraga reports for Reuters February 13, 2024.

Source: Reuters, 02/14/2024