Pajapan, Veracruz — Authorities say a ship and two natural oil slicks are the cause of the hydrocarbon spill in Veracruz and Tabasco. The Interinstitutional Group who announced the source say they are in search of the responsible vessel.
Based on technical and scientific modeling, satellite tracking, oceanographic analysis and monitoring of ocean currents and winds, three sources of hydrocarbon emissions were detected.
They were located from the illegal dumping by one vessel, out of 13 that were in the Coatzacoalcos anchorage area, all of which have been identified. Four of them are being inspected and the rest are being located with international support.
The two natural slicks have been located at Chapopoteras (natural hydrocarbon emanations) in the vicinity of Coatzacoalcos and the second in the vicinity of the Cantarell Complex.
The news was announced by Pemex CEO Victor Rodriguez Padilla in late March.
With the sources located, he reported that containment measures have been implemented using bay and ocean barriers, as well as hydrocarbon dispersants, using a Pemex and three Mexican Navy vessels.
Repairs will be carried out, if necessary, according to the underwater inspections that were carried out April 3 using underwater drones and divers (underwater work personnel), in order to rule out any structural failure that warrants said repair actions.
The inter-institutional operation to address the presence of hydrocarbons on the Gulf of Mexico coast continues with actions deployed on 48 beaches. Pemex reports that 32 are already free of oil spills (seven in Tabasco and 25 in Veracruz), as a result of intensive cleaning, containment and monitoring work.
Through the coordination of 3,145 personnel from the Mexican Navy, Pemex, Semarnat, Profepa, Conapesca, ASEA, Conanp and municipal authorities, 2,000 meters of containment barriers have been installed.
In addition, 475 patrols have been repeatedly conducted along more than 630 kilometers of coastline. Maritime and aerial operations have been carried out, including reconnaissance flights over Cantarell, as well as hydrocarbon sampling with its respective chain of custody and vessel inspections.
This has resulted in the manual and mechanical collection of 889.4 tons of hydrocarbons, which have been handled under environmental protocols for proper final disposal.
Furthermore, continuous monitoring of currents and weather conditions is maintained to optimize operations.
For these actions, various resources have been used, including 25 ships and boats, 48 vehicles, nine fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, three aerial drones and three underwater drones.
In terms of containment, oil booms have been installed as well as mechanical dispersal systems in the open sea. In priority areas alone, at least 480 meters of boom have been deployed, supported by specialized vessels and underwater inspection equipment, to prevent the spread of the oil to the coast.
As of mid-March, approximately 91 tons of oil-soaked waste had been collected from the beaches of Veracruz and Tabasco.
