How much is the recent oil spill in Tobago costing the country?

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley says the government isn’t sure yet how much containment, cleanup and rehabilitation will cost as the country struggles with an oil spill.

Almost two weeks ago, a mystery ship capsized just off the coast of Tobago and started leaking oil onto the shore. 

I say mystery ship because so far the government hasn’t been able to identify the owner of the ship or why it was in the area. There were no crew members on board and TT coast guards say they never received any distress signals alerting them to a vessel in trouble. So it’s like the ship just appeared… upside down and leaking. 

The working theory is that the ship was likely involved in some shady/illegal business and the crew bailed once things got sticky.

What we do know is that the oil spill has devastated Tobago’s shoreline. Prime Minister Rowley declared the spill a national emergency, adding that clean-up would come at a ‘significant cost’. 

He didn’t give any estimates though. And as I’m recording this on February 19, crews are still working to contain the spill and keep it from spreading. 

It may take a few months to know exactly how much the spill will cost T&T’s government.  Because outside of the cost of containment, cleanup and rehabilitation, you also have to think about lost revenues from tourism. 

Tourism is really big in Tobago and now their white, sandy beaches are covered in oil. 

Now oil spills can be pretty expensive to clean up. And the ship owners seem to be ghosts, so that seems to be a dead end for compensation.

Rowley did say they’re getting help from other countries that have more experience with oil spills, just not sure if that’s technical assistance or financial or both.

In the meantime, Grenada and Venezuela have been put on watch because there’s a possibility the oil may venture into their waters. 

And that’s the bottom line.