Repsol files a claim against the owners of the Mare Doricum ship and its insurers

With information from EFE

The Spanish oil company Repsol has filed a claim with the owners of the Italian oil tanker Mare Doricum and their insurers for the spill of more than 10,000 barrels of crude oil on the Peruvian coast, which occurred on January 15. This marks the beginning of the coverage process for the damage caused by the spill.

The president of Repsol Peru, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta, assured on Friday before the Commission of Andean, Amazonian, Afro-Peruvian, Environment and Ecology Peoples of the Peruvian Congress that the oil leak was caused by the “anomalous movement” of the oil tanker when it was unloading hydrocarbon from terminal 2 of the La Pampilla refinery, located in the municipality of Ventanilla.

“Our position is that this rupture, this spill, has been caused by an anomalous movement of the ship,” he said.

The Peruvian coast received the spill of some 10,396 barrels of crude, according to data from Repsol, while the Peruvian authorities say there were 11,900. According to the company, the affected area reached 105 square kilometers.

Repsol gets ready for the final stage

Repsol is preparing to enter the final stage of cleaning the beaches, which it expects to conclude this month, while in March it will finish the work in areas that require more detailed work, such as cliffs, rocky areas and reefs.

Fernández-Cuesta reiterated last Friday the company’s commitment to “return the Peruvian coastline to its natural state” and highlighted the deployment of more than 2,450 people in charge of cleaning.

In addition, he said that the company maintains a continuous dialogue with the various groups of fishermen, merchants and residents of the affected areas to listen to their demands and provide them with the corresponding support.

Repsol has reached agreements and collaboration acts with 34 groups of fishermen and merchants comprising more than 2,400 people.

Repsol: damage detected so far

The spill of last January 15 affected the sea and the beaches of Lima and Callao. It occurred when the collector platform was supposedly loosened or detached, coinciding with an unusual sea level due to the tsunami generated by the Tonga volcanic eruption.

According to the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), in the protected natural areas affected by the ecological catastrophe, more than 950 birds covered in oil have been registered, of species such as the cormorant, the guanay, the Peruvian booby, the pelican and the Peruvian seagull.

Until February 9, the Sernanp found 208 dead birds, while another 56 were rescued.