PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A member of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) is now hospitalized after gunmen shot him when a group stormed the Gulfstream shipwreck off the Coast of Cove in Tobago, late Friday.
According to a release from The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) on Saturday, the assailants attempted an unauthorised boarding at the wreck site, leading to a shootout between Coast Guard officers and the assailants.
This confrontation resulted in a non-life-threatening injury to the officer.
The release said the wreck site “continues to be protected by the TT Coast Guard and the TTPS, with the safety of all response personnel remaining paramount during the final stages of operation.”
It concluded by saying that the Ministry of Energy is working closely with the TTPS, TT Coast Guard, and TT Army to ensure the safety and security of the site.
On February 7, the barge was found overturned and leaking an oil-like substance approximately 200 meters off the coast of Cove, Tobago.
The substance was later identified as bunker fuel.
The spill damaged some of the island’s mangroves and threatened its tourism and fishing sector
It also entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and some Caribbean islands, including Bonaire.
In a recent statement, the ministry said the Gulfstream barge is currently stationed approximately three nautical miles away from its original resting place and is now afloat holding station in waters 60 metres deep off the coast of Cove, secured and supported by tugs.
It said that the temporary facility at the Cove site has now been decommissioned and that “ activities will now focus on conducting an underwater survey by the dive team utilizing Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) certified divers.
The barge had been under tow by a tugboat, the Solo Creed, when it capsized on a reef, causing a spill that affected approximately 15 kilometres of Tobago’s southwestern coast.
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