FSO Nabarima Fears Unfounded - Vessel Is Stable

There is nothing to fear from the Venezuelan-registered oil tanker FSO Nabarima. That's the word from Energy Minister Franklin Khan on Wednesday night. He said the vessel, which was thought to be sinking, is actually stable. He revealed the findings of a team of experts who on Tuesday boarded the vessel to assess if there was any threat to the marine environment after reports that the ship was tilting to one side and/or was sinking. The ship stores approximately 1.3 million barrels of oil, and an oil spill from it could threaten Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and other territories in range of the Gulf of Paria, where it is anchored in Venezuelan waters. The Minister of Energy said Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA confirmed that in the engine room, which was flooded, there was no mixing of bilge water, suggesting the double hulls are intact and pose minimal risk for an oil spill at this time. Minister Khan will give further details of the findings of the Ministry of Energy team at a press conference at 2pm today.