Tug Arrested in Angola Over $244M Caribbean Oil Spill Cleanup

More than eight months after being involved in a significant oil spill in the Caribbean, the tug Solo Creed has been arrested in Angola as part of efforts to recover $244 million in cleanup costs claimed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

The incident occurred on the morning of February 7, when local authorities discovered an oil slick from a capsized vessel off the west coast of Tobago. The slick quickly spread to the island’s southwest shores, prompting a national emergency.

The vessels involved were later identified as the Solo Creed tug and the barge Gulfstream, both known for transporting Venezuelan oil. The Gulfstream, which had been carrying around 35,000 barrels of oil on a voyage to Guyana, encountered difficulties that resulted in the barge capsizing off Tobago’s coast.

After the 48-year-old barge sank, the oil slick spread over hundreds of kilometers, eventually reaching the Dutch Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Aruba, and Grenada.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian and Dutch journalism group Bellingcat revealed the Solo Creed had traveled thousands of kilometers away and was arrested in Angola on May 11. The tug had breached Angola’s offshore oil security perimeter in blocks 17 and 18. The vessel has now been arrested by Trinidad and Tobago authorities in connection with the environmental damage.

“We will take all steps to hold the owners and or persons interested in the vessel accountable for the extensive damage caused to the livelihood of the people and environment of Tobago,” said Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries in a statement.