On January 15, Mare Doricum, the oil tanker was unloading crude oil at the La Pampilla Refinery, north of Lima Peru, when it was hit by violent waves and caused oil spillage of about 6,000 barrels into the sea. The Italian-flagged tanker was reportedly transporting 965,000 barrels of crude oil, when the incident took place. According to the initial reports, the oil spills happened due to “abnormal waves” caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga, but investigations are underway to find out the actual reason that caused the incident to happen.
The Peruvian government declared an environmental emergency and called the spill the worst ecological disaster in Lima’s history. Several beaches have been closed and cleanup crews were brought in by the Spanish energy firm Repsol. The cleanup crews and volunteers were working relentlessly to remove the oily sand, which was then transported to toxic waste dumps. According to local news channels, dead seals, fish and birds covered in oil, have washed up on Peru’s shore. The oil spillage has resulted in the death of marine wildlife and has raised severe concerns around the livelihood of local fishermen and the economic consequences from the loss of tourism.
Maxar collected recent satellite imagery (collected on January 19, 2022) of the oil spill of the coast near Lima, Peru. The sixth image captured by Capella Space, shows the spill threatening the natural ocean environment off the coast of Ventanilla, near Lima, Peru, which will be used to help access the disaster impact as well as monitor the recovery process. You see the pictures here:
