The Venezuelan-flagged Nabarima vessel has been sat idle off the Venezuelan coast since January 2019. Pictures recently emerged showing the FSO vessel floating at an incline, raising fears that it could spill its load into the gulf devastating the regional fishing industry and delicate ecosystems.
The Nabarima is operated by the Petrosucre company, a joint venture between the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the Italian Eni oil giant.
Petrosucre froze oil extraction in January 2019 after being sanctioned by President Donald Trump’s administration, leaving 1.3 million barrels of crude oil, some 80 million gallons, aboard the Nabarima.
The infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill—widely considered the worst in history by the amount of environmental damage done—involved around 10.8 million gallons of crude.
The U.S. embassy in Trinidad and Tobago released a statement Friday expressing its unease at the Nabarima’s situation. “The United States remains concerned by the potential risk to safety and environment posed by the Venezuelan-flagged vessel, Nabarima, in the Gulf of Paria,” the statement said.
“We strongly support immediate actions to bring the Nabarima up to international safety standards and avoid possible environmental harm, which could negatively impact not only the Venezuelan people but also those in nearby countries. PDVSA has a responsibility to take action to avoid an environmental disaster in Venezuelan waters.”
Recent photos of the Nabarima show it listing to one side in the water. An unnamed source “familiar with the matter” told Reuters the ship was leaning to allow the crew to replace its valves.
Eni said Friday that the company was now trying to unload the crude oil aboard and had asked the U.S. for a “green light” to do so “in order to prevent any sanctions risk.”
Gary Aboud, the corporate secretary of Trinidadian environmental group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, told Reuters: “If this thing flips we will all pay the consequences for decades to come. This should be red alert.”
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan government, leftist President Nicolas Maduro and the PDVSA, framing them as illegitimate and demanding the government release political prisoners and allow free and fair elections.
The Trump administration has also recognized former National Assembly majority leader and self-declared Interim President Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader, but has failed to unseat Maduro and usher Guaido into power.
The U.S. embassy in Trinidad and Tobago said Friday that its call to action regarding the Nabarima is in keeping with its pressure on the Maduro government. “As a general matter, the United States’ Venezuela sanctions program is not designed to target activities addressing safety, environmental, or humanitarian concerns,” the embassy said.
“These activities to avert an ecological disaster are consistent with U.S. policy to support the Venezuelan people and avoid further harm to the environment.”
