Based on satellite imagery, environmental organizations denounced on Wednesday that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has affected 630 kilometers of coastline in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco, began in February in the waters of the state of Campeche, in southeastern Mexico.
In a statement, the NGOs, including the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda), indicated that the satellite images “reveal early awareness, insufficient containment, and official opacity.”
In the statement, they specified that the oil spill “reached 50 km² and is believed to have originated from a vessel near the Abkatún platform between February 11 and 17.”
The images show that “the incident was known to the authorities from an early stage and that containment efforts failed to prevent its spread,” they added.
Furthermore, they pointed out that “there was no timely public information regarding the magnitude of the spill, its risks, or the response measures,” and added that the Mexican Navy (Semar), the Agency for Safety, Energy and the Environment (ASEA), and other authorities “must explain what measures they activated, when they did so, and why they did not promptly alert the public.”
They specified that, according to satellite image analysis, “between February 6 and 10,” a vessel remained in an area near the Abkatún platform, “where the spill of oil or crude oil began in initially small quantities.”
But starting on February 11, “the discharge intensified, significantly increasing the volume of the spill.”
By February 13, the text indicated, “the spill was clearly visible, and at least five additional vessels were carrying out containment efforts… actions that proved insufficient given the magnitude of the incident.”
They stated that “the spill remained active at least until February 17,” subsequently dispersing due to factors such as ocean currents and weather conditions, “facilitating its gradual arrival over the last three weeks on the coasts of Tabasco and Veracruz.”
Given this situation, the organizations denounced that the handling of this incident “has ignored the official guidelines” established in the National Contingency Plan for Spills of Hydrocarbons and Potentially Hazardous Noxious Substances, in effect since 2023.
The Mexican government announced on Wednesday more than 35 million pesos (approximately US$1.98 million) in economic and technical support to mitigate the impacts in the Gulf of Mexico, where, it said, 128 tons of waste have been collected, while the source of the spill from almost a month ago remains unidentified.
Furthermore, he asserted that they are conducting a “technical and scientific investigation” to determine the origin of the hydrocarbon detected in the Gulf, using satellite imagery, drones, and overflights by the Mexican Navy.
He denied that the images released by Greenpeace, which claimed the spill has impacted more than 630 kilometers of coastline, correspond to actual satellite images.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
