Subject: BLACK THURSDAY IN VENEZUELA * BLACK THURSDAY IN VENEZUELA A huge oil spill promises to block Venezuela=B4s economic artery on Thursday, May 15, 1997 _____________________________________________________________ In the middle of the night of February 28, a Greek tanker, the Nissos Amorgos, fractured its hull in the navigation channel of Lake Maracaibo. In a matter of hour, 25,000 barrels of heavy oil spilled into the waters. Heavy oil is known to contain highly toxic compounds. The social, environmental, economic and political impact has since mushroomed to such an extent that it is now threatening to at least temporarily block the flow of oil from Venezuela to the rest of the world. The accident did not only opened a breach in the ship's hull. It also fractured the shield of impunity and incompetence with which government bureaucrats had been able to operate this vital navigation channel, through which 70 percent of Venezuela=B4s oil is exported. Venezuela is the largest exporter of oil in the Western Hemisphere, produces 3 million barrels of oil a day, and exports nearly 2.5 million barrels in crude and products to the international market.=20 Between February of 1996 and February of 1997, an average of one accident has taken place in the navigation channel of Maracaibo Lake every 40 days, an awesome record considering the unique importance of this shipping highway to the Venezuelan economy. This time, however, the endurance of the many ordinary people directly affected reached its limits. Some 20,000 fishermen, members of FETRAPESCA, the federation of fishermen unions, have decided to block the channel on Thursday, May 15. It is a sign of protest for the way government officials and the shipping industry have ignored their interests and claims. It is also an action meant to call the attention of the international community on the recurrent and dramatic impact of oil spills in the largest lake of South America, extending over 13,280 square kilometers. On the 15th of May, from 3,000 to as many as 5,000 fishing boats are expected to block shipping traffic to or from Lake Maracaibo. Each boat will carry a black flag, a sign of mourning for the irreversible damages that has been caused to both people and the environment. The measure will affect the flow of about 1.5 million barrels of oil that day alone, with a value of 25 million dollars. The protest is being organized by Albino Hernandez, who successfully organized the blockade of this same channel 25 years ago, despite aggressive and public threats voiced by the President and the military at the time. Ironically, it is the same President who is now in office, Rafael Caldera, re-elected at a peak of political turmoil three years ago. In only two months since the spill took place, fishing in the Lake has dropped to half its normal rate, representing a loss of about 40 million dollars to fishermen alone. The loss to the industry has not been quantified. On Monday, May the 5th, a local judge ruled on the preventive embargo of property of the owners of the Nissos Amorgos, for 290 million dollars. The Attorney General has announced the introduction of a lawsuit in the name of the Nation for violation of the Law of the Environment. In the mean time, the fishermen have introduced a lawsuit against the owners of the tanker for 130 million dollars.=20 The captain of the ship, Konstadinos Spiropulos, has been temporarily detained, while obscure aspect of the case comes to the surface. The incident took place almost in the same spot where another Greek tanker, the Olympic Sponsor, punctured its hull on the 10th of March last year. In that opportunity, however, the double bottom of the ship prevented a spill. Nevertheless, it has called the attention of intelligence services that both ships seem to belong to the same owners, and that one of the official on duty when the Olympic Sponsor punctured its hull was also on duty on another tanker, the Corellis, when it had a similar accident in the same area a month later, on April 10. The theory of foul play is thus under consideration, enhanced by the reported lobbying in London and Washington for the de-certification of this navigation channel, a major threat to the already shattered economic and political stability of the country. These accidents have occurred in the general area where a ship by the name of The Explorer sank nine years ago. It is argued that rests of the Explorer punctured the hull of the Nissos Amorgos. The navigation channel is now being cleared of accumulated debris, at a cost of nearly 50,000 dollars a day. Due mainly to negligence, maintenance had been ignored for over a year, causing the accumulation of sediments in the order of 10 million cubic meters. This in turn has increased shipping costs, due to the idle capacity of tankers caused by the reduction in navigable depth to 34 feet.=20 The ecological damage derived from the spill of heavy oil from the Nissos Amorgos is immense. It is expected to grow, leaving a trail of desolation and despair, and seriously affecting reproductive and biological processes in the area. This oil spill could be classified as a major environmental disaster, affecting the ecosystem as well as vital interests of local people. However, the Ministry of the Environment and other relevant government authorities have openly attempted to conceal the importance of the case, and have failed to properly inform the general public about its magnitude and consequences. The action taken by fishermen is therefore charged with political significance. It is the awakening of people in defense of their legitimate rights, after decades of abuse, and a challenge to the ineptitude and corruption of government authorities who have lost the trust of the people they are supposed to represent.=20 In a late attempt to calm the rage of local people, the Congress has promised to declare the navigation channel as a National Security Zone, according to Article 15 of the Law on Security and Defense. It also plans to request from the national oil industry, PDVSA, a review of its contingency plans, and an update of its infrastructure to handle emergencies of this nature. Surprisingly enough, PDVSA's contingency plans are limited to light oil, of little use in cases like this, where heavy oil was spilled, sinking into the waters. This has prompted the proposal from the Commission on the Environment of the Chamber of Deputies for PDVSA to immediately update technology and contingency plans, so as to be able to deals with eventualities of this nature. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Intertanko is an international association representing two thirds of the independent fleet of tankers worldwide. Its President, Daglin Lunde, argues that international agreements have been violated by the preventive arrest of the captain of the Nissos Amorgos, by the=20 preventive embargo of the ship itself, and by the introduction of a lawsuit by the Attorney General in the name of the country.=20 Venezuela is signatory to two agreements at the International Maritime Organization, covering risks and compensation for accidental oil spills. The first, subscribed 28 years ago, indicates a maximum compensation of 7.2 million dollars for civil responsibility, amount swiftly subscribed by the insurance company of the Nissos Amorgos soon after the accident. On the other hand, there is a Compensation Fund of 85 million dollars, subscribed not by governments but by oil companies and importers, and created to respond to demands and lawsuits. According to Lunde, the Compensation Fund has been used in 70 cases already, and has been instrumental to resolve most such cases out of court. Lunde does not understand why these mechanisms are not considered sufficient by Venezuela in the case of the Nissos Amorgos.=20 MORE OIL HITS THE WATERS Maracaibo Lake has become a disaster area not only from the reiterating oil spills from tankers. During at least half a century it has been the object of serious contamination with urban, industrial and agricultural waste, erosion and sedimentation. Spills also occur regularly from the many oil wells in the area. Just one month before the scandal of the Nissos Amorgos, simultaneous spills from two wells were detected, ironically named Mosquito 2 and Mosquito 3. By the time the spills were detected, these wells had been leaking their lethal dose of "the devil's excrement" [as oil is often referred to in Venezuela] into the lake for over two weeks, seriously damaging neighboring mangroves and local wildlife. The impact of this and similar spills could have been prevented or minimized, had there been an efficient monitoring system in place by the oil industry. Mosquito 3 had been shut down for 10 years. No one noticed that one whole kilometer of oil-duct leading to this well had been stolen, as well as complementary equipment to control the flow of oil. This story if far from over. Nevertheless, one conclusion to be drawn so far is the importance of civic action as a mechanisms to overcome the incompetence of government bureaucracies, and their tendency to come to agreements without due consideration for the plight of those directly affected by incidents of this nature. No longer will people around Maracaibo Lake become passive victims of government inaction, or of the lack of compliance by the oil and the shipping industry with national and international regulations on the environmental and social impact of oil spills. Black Thursday is expected to become a powerful political symbol of what people can achieve in defense of their legitimate rights, in a country where basic human rights have been consistently abused for decades.=20 _______________________________________________ Julio Cesar Centeno, PhD Las Tapias, Edif. Carreto =20 Pent House Tel. +58-74-714576 PO Box 750 Fax +58-74-714576 Merida - Venezuela Email: JCenteno@ciens.ula.ve _______________________________________________ - -