Pedro Castillo assured that the Government will assume “the role of punishing those responsible” for the oil spill from a vessel in charge of the multinational Repsol that has left millions of land and sea m2 covered with oil. The oil multinational had reported a much smaller spill than determined by the country’s authorities and denies having caused the ecological disaster. Peruvian authorities could fine the company 35 million dollars.
The Peruvian president assured that the State will carry out “urgent” and “serious” actions in order to punish those responsible for what he cataloged as one of the “largest ecocides” on the Peruvian coast due to the spill of crude oil in a terminal of the La Pampilla refinery, which belongs to the Spanish multinational Repsol.
“The ecological damage to our coastline is inadmissible. The State has ordered criminal, civil and administrative actions, in order to protect the country’s sovereignty and well-being,” the president added.
“We are facing one of the largest ecocides that have occurred on our coasts and sea. The Government assumes the role of punishing those responsible for the damage that tragically affects the flora, fauna and communities that are endangered and deprived of their livelihood. day-to-day,” Castillo said.
Hours earlier, the president had visited Cavero beach, one of the most affected by the spill, flew over the area and signed a supreme decree declaring the climate emergency of national interest, where he assured that he expected the company to assume its responsibility in the disaster. ecological.
Oil spill in the Peruvian sea, more serious than reported by Repsol
The oil spill off the coast of Peru, caused by abnormal waves after the eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga, is much more serious than initially reported.
According to the Andean country’s Environment Minister, Rúben Ramírez, at least 6,000 barrels of crude spilled on Saturday, January 15, at the La Pampilla refinery terminal. This occurred when the Italian-flagged Mare Dorium was in the process of unloading.
The reported figure contradicts what was initially reported by the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) of the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment. The entity stated that the refinery had reported on the spill of just 0.16 barrels in an area of two and a half square meters.
However, according to the OEFA, until Thursday the affected area includes 1.7 million m2 of land and 1.2 million m2 in the sea, with serious consequences for natural protected areas, which created a highly negative impact on the marine fauna of the place, as well as on its beaches.
Impact on nature reserves and marine fauna
The National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp) announced that the oil spill reached the National Reserve System of Islands, Islets and Guaneras Points, Islets of Fishermen and the Reserved Zone of Ancón.
Sernamp also reported that the marine fauna of the area has been seriously affected. Dead birds, sea lions and penguins have been found, as well as many contaminated specimens, for which the entity reported on the deployment of a brigade of personnel to support the rescue and cleaning work of the animals with veterinary medical assistance.
The families that live in the area, whose main sources of income are fishing and activities related to tourism, have also been seriously affected and many residents have gone outside the La Pampilla refinery, demanding that the company provide them with a solution. .
The Ministry of Health has identified 21 beaches affected by the spill and asked the population not to go to these because they are not suitable for bathers since they qualify as “unhealthy”.
Repsol: “we do not cause ecological damage”
Repsol Peru, through its Communication and Institutional Relations manager, Tine van den Wall Bake Rodríguez, gave an interview to the Peruvian radio RPP on January 19 and pointed out that the oil company did not cause the ecological disaster.
He also indicated that he could not point out those responsible, because, as he explained, the emergency would have been caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga and added that the Peruvian Navy told them that there was no tsunami alert.
At another point in the interview, the spokeswoman tried to explain why initially a minimal spill was reported in contrast to the real magnitude of the emergency: “By procedure, by law, during the first 12 hours you have to report a volume. The first thing you saw was just some iridescence in the sea and you didn’t see a spill,” he said.
Bake Rodríguez assured that the abnormal waves “took that discharge (from the boat)” and spread it around.
“If it were a normal spill, the oil would have surfaced at the site, but since there were these waves, it was carried to other sites, it was not seen (…) at 5 in the morning the next day, patrols go out to explore, both at the surrounding beaches, by land, by sea (…) and (the scope of the spill) is not detected”, continued the Repsol representative.
Bake Rodríguez stated that it was only on Sunday afternoon, when 24 hours had passed, that they realized the real magnitude of the disaster.
Legal actions and sanctions against the oil company
In a statement, the OEFA stated that the company has two days to identify the areas affected by the spilled crude oil; 10 days to decontaminate the affected soil on the beaches; 5 days to contain and recover the hydrocarbon that floats in marine waters, among other provisions.
Minister Ramírez pointed out that if these measures are not complied with, the company could be fined approximately 35 million dollars.
For its part, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Peru reported that it will take legal action and demand compensation for those determined to be responsible for the spill.
Meanwhile, the Lima Environmental Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation for the alleged crime of environmental pollution against the legal representatives and officials of the La Pampilla refinery.
With EFE and local media
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