An Oil Spill Reaches Chaguaramas Harbour

A Trinidad oil spill: one group is referring to it as a national disaster because of the impact on livelihoods and fish stocks. The oil spill may have started last night as the smell of fuel overpowered us in our beds.

We are moored in Chaguaramas, Trinidad. The entire harbour has been affected. I considered staying in a hotel yesterday evening because of the stench. Then, I found myself googling whether I could die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Ultimately, we shut the hatches and fell asleep.

Waking Up in an Oil-Covered Harbour

This morning we woke up. The sea was calm and the Chaguaramas harbour was covered in thick oil.

The density of the oil is insane.

A local man told me that the oil should be gone in a week. Still, weekend boaters sped by on their power boats. Their wake was brown and oily. The brown waves rocked our boat and the oil coated our sides.

Oil Coats Our Sailboat

All the boats in the harbour look about the same in terms of filth. Dinghies are stained and the sides of our catamaran look just as nasty as our neighbour’s boat, which is usually clean.

The sugar scoops of our catamaran are brown where oily water has washed over them. We have to wipe our hands and feet when we are using the dinghy. It is impossible to avoid the oil. Even our toilet water, which relies on salt water is tinged with oil.

I take some pride in keeping our boat looking clean. It’s my job to clean the bottom and the keel. But, this oil spill has left me in despair, and not because of the mess.

Listen, my sister studied environmental science in University. But, I have been known to throw the occasional tin can in the trash. Experiencing the oil spill first-hand has rocked my socks off.

The Environmental Cost of the Spill

Fish that cluster outside my galley window usually bring me joy, but today I could only feel sadness. While I haven’t seen any dead fish or wildlife, I know that it’s only a matter of time before pelicans, dolphins, turtles and fish will be affected.

Fishermen are affected, the food chain is affected.

The source of the oil spill is still unknown. It worries me that the spill has not yet been stemmed. People can smell the oil as far as the airport, which is about a forty-five minute drive from us.

The oil spill in Trinidad is not an isolated incident. Something has gone terribly wrong. And so far, no one has stepped forward to claim responsibility. Please share this story.

Other Documented Oil Spills in Trinidad

It took us 50 hours to clean the oil from our catamaran. It is worth noting that other people have recorded similar oil contamination in Chaguaramas and Tobago, including:

• October 1, 2000 — “Gluttony on the Bounty” aboard Lulu: An oil barge was punctured in Port of Spain, and the resulting slick travelled into Chaguaramas Harbour.
• January 2003 — “Changes in Latitudes” from Latitude 38: John Anderton of Sanderling reported that an oil slick had entered Chaguaramas Harbour, its anchorages and several small marinas. His yacht was anchored nearby, and he feared the slick would reach it.
• May 13, 2006 — Plan B: A Leg of Lamb and a Broomstick by David Townsend: Townsend described a heavy crude-oil spill while aboard Pinta in Chaguaramas. Although Pinta escaped most of the contamination, nearby yachts and dinghy docks were covered in oil.
• October 16, 2017 — the oil spill affected our boat, and was also described by David Smith and Gary Felton. Later, Willie Haskins described the clean-up effort.
• July 8, 2018 — “Trinidad: End of Season” aboard Aura: The crew encountered diesel oil that repeatedly returned to the marina with the incoming tide. It stained Aura’s waterline and had to be cleaned after the yacht was hauled out.
• April 4, 2020 oil spill reported by Robert Edge on Facebook.
• August 26, 2021 — oil spill in the Gulf of Paria reported by Gary Aboud, Corporate Secretary of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea.
• February/March 2024 — oil spill in Tobago

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor is it intended to discourage sailors from visiting Chaguaramas.

Trinidad has an established marine industry that has helped many cruising boats, including ours.

However, these accounts show that oil contamination has affected yachts in the area more than once. Sailors staying afloat should remain alert, particularly because removing oil from a hull can require many hours of difficult work.

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