LIMA (Reuters) – Peru's government on Thursday declared an environmental emergency in a northern coastal region where state oil company Petroperu last weekend leaked a cargo into waters surrounding the Pacific Ocean.
A ship conducting pre-shipment maneuvers caused a leak on Saturday at a terminal of Peru's Talara refinery in northern Peru.
Petroperu did not say how much crude oil leaked into the sea, but Peru's environmental watchdog said in a preliminary report that it affected about 10,000 square meters of surface sea water, and the Environment Ministry said it affected at least seven beaches, in addition to wildlife. Local.
Peru's Environment Ministry said the 90-day state of emergency aims to “ensure sustainable management of the area and implement recovery and remediation works to mitigate environmental pollution.”
Petroperu said on Wednesday that it deployed clean-up teams 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 kept cleanup personnel, boats and drones in the affected area “to conduct preventive surveillance to ensure early detection of any possibility.”
Local authorities said the leak damaged coastal plants and animals such as crabs, while fishermen say the leak prevented them from working.
“We haven't been able to go out for six days,” fisherman Martin Passos told local radio RBB. “It's a mess, what happened at Lobitus. So far, we haven't heard back from the oil company.”
