Tsunami-triggered oil spill devastates Peru’s coast

The Peruvian government has called for international support to respond to an oil spill off Lima that it called the “worst environmental disaster” in the city’s recent history, as crude continued to spill onto beaches near a week after the waves triggered by the eruption of the Tonga volcano. halted operations at a local refinery.

The Environment Ministry estimated that around 6,000 barrels of crude had spilled into a biodiverse swath of the Peruvian Pacific – well above the seven gallons that the refinery operator, Spanish oil company Repsol, had initially reported to authorities when the disaster happened last Saturday.

On Thursday, the Health Ministry warned that 21 beaches posed “a serious health risk” and urged district authorities to restrict access. The government said the oil slick on the surface of the sea extended over an area of ​​water equal to 320 football fields.

After an outcry over a clean-up operation widely seen as inadequate, the government said on Thursday it had asked experts from the United Nations and the US National Response Team to help secure redress and compensation. appropriate from the company.

“We are facing one of the greatest ecocides on our coast,” President Pedro Castillo said Thursday from a polluted beach. “The State is preparing criminal, civil and administrative sanctions.”

The environment minister said Repsol could possibly have to pay fines worth some $36 million and accused the company of failing to notify authorities in time and failing to properly describe the magnitude of the spill.

Repsol said Friday it was conducting an internal investigation into the spill. “We reaffirm our commitment to respond effectively and transparently to the public and relevant authorities, putting people and communities first,” the Spanish oil company said in a statement.

The spill has left hundreds of fishermen out of work in impoverished coastal districts and threatens two protected marine reserves where rocky islets provide refuge for sea otters, Humboldt penguins and red-legged cormorants.

Peru’s Pacific waters are renowned for their biodiversity, thanks to the cold, plankton-filled Humboldt Current that runs along its coast, supporting a rich chain of marine life, from anchovies and dolphins to seabirds whose droppings – guano – are collected and sold as organic fertilizer.

“We are witnessing the destruction of the Peruvian marine ecosystem and the livelihoods of those who depend on it, in slow motion, and it is truly terrifying,” said Juan Carlos Rivero, marine biologist with the environmental association Oceana Peru. “Because neither the company nor the state have the capacity to react.”

Repsol said the spill happened on Saturday afternoon when a tanker unloading crude at its Pampilla refinery was rocked by strong waves caused by the volcanic eruption near Tonga. The Italian shipping company that owns the tanker said an undersea pipeline at the Pampilla terminal had suddenly broken during the process, and his crew quickly closed the floodgates.

Unlike neighboring Chile and Ecuador, Peru had ruled out a tsunami from Tonga’s eruption last Saturday and only warned of potentially dangerous waves after flooding was reported in several coastal areas. In northern Peru, two women drowned when massive waves flooded a beach and swept them out to sea.

When Repsol first publicly acknowledged the spill on Sunday, it called it “limited” and said it had been “contained” thanks to its contingency plan. But by Monday it was clear the company had underestimated its size and impact. Local TV showed crude lapping the shores of several beaches, with dead penguins and other seabirds covered in oil.

Repsol said on Friday it planned to complete the cleanup of affected beaches and the maritime area by the end of February. The company said it deployed 840 people, along with outside clean-up companies and consultants, to help remove the polluted sand, with more than 1,500 cubic meters removed on Friday.

Mr Rivero, who visited the affected beaches this week, described the clean-up operation as “tremendously improvised”. He said he saw workers hired by Repsol trying to use dustpans, buckets, wheelbarrows and plastic bags to remove crude from beaches that were soaked in it.

The government said Repsol had offered to hire local fishermen to help with the cleanup response. Volunteers have tried to help, but many lack adequate protection and authorities said two people were hospitalized.

“The oil will sit in the sea for months,” Rivero said. “It will affect our wildlife. It’s going to affect our diet, it’s going to affect our health, it’s going to affect our beaches.

Raphael Minder contributed reporting from Madrid.