By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS National Trust has expressed concerns about the cargo ship that recently sank off the southern coast of Abaco and its impact on the marine environment.

In a statement on Friday, BNT indicated concern about the location of this vessel as it is currently within the Cross Harbour Protected Area.

On December 29, 2022, Onego Traveller sank in waters in the southern part of Abaco with heavy fuel onboard.

The general cargo ship registered in Antigua and Barbuda, built in 2002, reportedly began taking on water in the ballast water tank area near Hole in the Wall, off South Abaco.

The Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) has been in communication with the BNT to provide updates on the situation.

“We know that the Onego Traveller vessel was transporting Kemira Ferix-3, an industrial granulated solid used in wastewater treatment, odour control, and fertiliser. This chemical along with fuel from the vessel has been observed in the surrounding sea since the vessel’s sinking. “The BNT is reaching out to experts in environmental chemistry and toxicology to better understand the spill’s environmental impact,” the statement said.

“The primary concern around the Ferix is how it will affect water quality in the short and long term. It is currently impacting the pH of the water surrounding the sunken vessel, creating highly acidic conditions. If the Ferix acts as a fertiliser in the seawater, this could also lead to harmful algal blooms which negatively impact marine life and have health impacts on people exposed in and around the water. The scale and extent of such impacts will depend on the amount of the chemical ultimately released into the environment and other nutrient levels in the seawater.”

The statement added: “The BNT is especially concerned about the location of this vessel. lt is currently within the Cross Harbour Protected Area. This marine protected area was declared in 2015 to protect important terrestrial and coastal ecosystems and was expanded in 2021 to include significantly more marine areas. This area is particularly important for bonefish, as it serves as a pre-spawning aggregation site which supports a vibrant fly-fishing industry of local and national economic significance. The vessel is also approximately seven miles south of the shoreline of the Abaco National Park managed by the BNT.”

BNT Executive Director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle said, ”The BNT’s key concern at this time is the impact of the ship on the seabed and the potential impact of the vessel’s spilt chemical contents on coastal and marine organisms and habitats in the area, especially given that the vessel is currently within the boundaries of a marine protected area, not yet assigned to any protected area management agency. If the chemicals are not quickly and properly contained they can potentially spread to other areas.

“The BNT is prepared to support any remediation or monitoring efforts, including the creation of long-term policies to prevent or respond more quickly to such incidences in the future. We have been in constant communication with the director of DEPP, who has requested assistance to conduct ecological assessments; and our park wardens and scientists are on standby and ready to help with these efforts as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Speaking to reporters at a BNT event earlier yesterday, Ms Anderson-Rolle spoke in detail about the work on the ground.

“We actually also have our senior science officer on standby, we will be providing support to the ministry on the ecological assessments. We are familiar with the area, it's actually an area that has been established or approved as a protected area since 2015. It was also recently expanded in 2021. So our concern really has to do with the fact that it is actually within a protected area. And so we are on standby to provide support for the government with respect to making sure that no physical damage has been done, but we anticipate that that may be the case. But we are working and speaking with experts in the field of environmental chemistry and toxicology to really determine the impacts of chemicals in saltwater.”

Asked about concerns about possible impact to wildlife, the executive director noted: “The last update we received, they were containing the chemicals, obviously, because it's been contained, it hasn't really been spreading to really cause a major impact. We're only really waiting to be able to get in the water to see the impacts for ourselves to be able to make that assessment.”

The BNT is pleased that the government has already responded to this incident by deploying measures to contain any spillage and initiating a meeting of the National Oil Spill Contingency Advisory Committee (NOSCAC).

In a statement released recently, the Ministry of Transport and Housing confirmed that a meeting with members of the NOSCAC was held to discuss the way forward.