Chile: Oil Spill Affects Livelihood of Fishermen

Three hundred and fifty liters of oil were spilled in Bahia San Vicente in Talcahuano. As Ecologia y Patrañas Diversas (ES) explains, the spillage happened when the ship New Constellation under the flag of the Marshall Islands and operated by Ultramar, while unloading fuel for the National Enterprise of Petrol, Enap. The accident happened on May 25.

To understand who were responsible for the accident, the Public Prosecutor's Office is working on the case. The online newspaper, El Ciudadano (ES) posts that the accident was due to a breakdown in the pipe on the property of Enap (ES), National Enterprise of Petrol. In the meantime, SAG (Agricultural and Livestock Service) is working to rescue, rehabilitate, wash, and relocate the birds to a safe area. More than 200 birds are being attended to at a clinic in the same location.

The environment and the fishermen in the area have been the most affected. As Sergio Leiva (ES) explains, the Enap company hired 50 fishermen to help with the labor of cleaning the area, because it is now impossible for the fishermen to work. Up until now, it is said that 85% of the area is now clean. The port authority developed a plan to recover the petrol and to build barriers to slow down the damage. Mauricio Barrientos (ES) wrote that the damage will remain for 15 years. Also, that there are some groups of students helping to clean the area.

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