Damaged, tilted Venezuelan tanker threatens to spill 1.3 million barrels of crude it contains into waters between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago -

Geoffrey Swaine / Shutter / SIPA

A damaged Venezuelan oil tanker anchored for several months in the Gulf of Paria, between the Venezuelan coasts and those of Trinidad and Tobago could cause an "environmental catastrophe", say the Venezuelan opposition and officials of the oil sector.

On a video dated October 16 and broadcast by the NGO Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, we can see the oil tanker Nabarima, a vessel intended for the storage of hydrocarbons 264 m long, strongly inclined.

The 1.3 million barrels of crude it contains threatens to spill into the water.

Problems "ignored" by the Venezuelan state-owned oil company

According to Eudis Girot, a union official in the Venezuelan oil sector, the Nabarima has experienced serious maintenance problems since 2014. Yet these problems “have been ignored” by PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, he says.

On August 12, several PDVSA employees had already reported that the vessel had taken an 8% bank, continues Eudis Girot.

Similarly, the engine room was flooded and the bilge pumps were out of order.

"If the oil is not transferred, and even though the Nabarima could be stabilized, there is a permanent risk of an environmental catastrophe," said opposition MP Robert Alcala.

Alert given since September

The Nabarima is owned by Petrosucre, a company owned 74% by PDVSA and 26% by Italian Eni.

According to Luis Stefanelli, another opposition deputy, two boats, the Icaro and the Inmaculada, were sent to the area by PDVSA to try to unload the oil contained in the Nabarima, a measure that the Venezuelan oil giant did not neither confirmed nor denied.

In September, environmental activists had already warned about the state of disrepair of Nabarima.

PDVSA reacted by qualifying this information as “fake news”.

According to Eudis Girot, PDVSA and Eni claim that US sanctions against Venezuela make it difficult to transfer oil from Nabarima.

Oil: Venezuela's biggest source of income

Uncontrolled oil spills are common in Venezuela due to the lack of maintenance, or even the abandonment, of infrastructure.

Production, by far Venezuela's largest source of income, has grown from 3.2 million barrels per day twelve years ago to 400,000 barrels per day today.

The - Sri Lankan Air Force / AFP

The Venezuelan opposition and analysts point the finger at corruption and mismanagement to explain this collapse.

Nicolas Maduro's socialist government is highlighting the American embargo on Venezuelan crude.

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