Property damage and business interruption

28.12, oil spill

Argentina: a huge oil spill has washed onto the shore north of Comodoro Rivadavia in Argentine Patagonia, threatening the rich marine life in the area. The government of the province of Chubut has formally accused, before a court of justice, several oil corporations for the crude spill which washed along four kilometers of the provincial coast, damaging rich marine resources and limiting tourist industry prospects. Chubut Province named several corporations, particularly Terminales Maritimas Patagonias (Termap), which operates an offshore oil loading platform north of Comodoro Rivadavia where the spill originally occurred but was not reported to local authorities. Local authorities suspect the oil spill occurred several days earlier during the loading of a tanker but the first signals of the disaster were reported by residents from Caleta Cordoba. The oil slick extends along a coastline rich in molluscs, shellfish and sea birds and which, in summer months, attracts thousands of tourists. It is an area with beaches that took years to clean up following decades of oil exploitation with virtually no environmental control or limits. Reports from Caleta Cordoba indicate that over 100 people — Government personnel, environmentalists and volunteers — organised in special crews were in the process of clearing the contaminated area and have rescued over 60 sea birds covered in oil. However an estimated 500 have died.