LIMA (Reuters) – Peru’s government declared an ecological emergency on Thursday in a northern coastal area where state oil company Petroperu spilled a cargo into surrounding Pacific Ocean waters over the weekend.
A ship performing pre-shipment maneuvers caused the spill at a terminal of Peru’s Talara refinery in northern Peru on Saturday.
Petroperu has not said how much crude oil spilled into the sea, but Peru’s environmental watchdog OEFA said in a preliminary report that it affected about 10,000 square meters of surface water. The Ministry of Environment says it has affected at least seven beaches, as well as local wildlife.
Peru’s Ministry of the Environment said the 90-day state of emergency aims to “guarantee the sustainable management of the area and the implementation of rehabilitation and restoration works to reduce environmental pollution.”
Petroperu said on Wednesday that it deployed cleanup brigades from the moment of the spill and coordinated with the fishermen’s union and local authorities so that local economic and tourism activities could continue normally.
Petroperu said in a statement that it is maintaining cleaning staff, boats and drones in the affected area to “carry out preventive surveillance to ensure the early detection of any eventuality.”
Local authorities say the spill has damaged coastal plants and animals such as crabs, while fishermen say the spill has prevented them from working.
“We haven’t been able to go out for six days now,” fisherman Martin Pasos told local radio RPP. “It’s chaos, what happened in Lobitos. So far we have had no response from the oil company.”
