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Agence France-Presse

Peru declared an environmental emergency to battle an oil spill caused by freak waves from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific.
The stunningly powerful eruption last Saturday of an undersea volcano near Tonga unleashed tsunami waves around the Pacific and as far away as the United States.
In Peru, the oil spill near Lima has fouled beaches, killed birds and harmed the fishing and tourism industries.
With its 90-day decree, the government on Saturday said it plans “sustainable management” of 21 beaches tarred by 6,000 barrels of oil that spilled from a tanker ship unloading at a refinery last Saturday.
One aim of the decree is to better organise the various agencies and teams working in the aftermath of the disaster, said the environment ministry.
Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Roberto Sanchez estimated Saturday that economic losses total more than US$50 million, all sectors combined.

The government is demanding payment of damages from the Spanish energy giant Repsol which owns the refinery.
The environment ministry said 174 hectares – equivalent to 270 football fields – of sea, beaches and natural reserves were affected by the spill.
Crews have been working for days to clean up the spill.
Mauritius oil spill: Ship captain admits to partying as vessel sank
But the ministry said it issued the emergency decree because the crude still in the water was still spreading, reaching 40km (25 miles) from the spot of the original spill.
The environment ministry said “the spill amounts to a sudden event of significant impact on the coastal marine ecosystem, which has major biological diversity.”

It said that over the short term, Repsol is responsible for emergency clean-up operations.
The refinery is in the town of Ventanilla near Lima.
Repsol has said the spill occurred because of the freak waves caused by the eruption.
The company has argued that it is not responsible for the spill, however, because it says the government gave no warning that there might be rough waters from that undersea blast.
On Saturday, Repsol issued a statement outlining the clean-up operation by 1,350 people using big-rig trucks, skimmers, floating containment barriers and other equipment.
Major California oil spill an ‘environmental catastrophe’
Repsol said it is “deploying all efforts to attend to the remediation of the spill”.
In addition to the fishing industry, Peru’s tourism sector has taken a major blow, including everything from restaurants, to beach umbrella rentals to food and beverage sales by vendors.

“In a normal season, between January and March (during Peru’s summer) five million people visit the affected beaches. The economic loss is immense,” Sanchez said, adding that thousands of jobs had been affected and the tourism sector “mortally wounded.”
On the pier in the town of Ancon north of Lima, only the crew members of larger vessels that fish on the high seas continued to work, while the fish stalls were empty, because there are no longer any customers.
“The fish more than anything comes out with the smell of oil, and people don’t buy it, they don’t eat it because they are afraid of getting poisoned by it, by the oil spill,” said Giovana Rugel, 52, who sells fish at the entrance to the Ancon pier.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Peru

Peru declares emergency from oil spill linked to Tonga eruption

Workers clean oil on Cavero Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru on January 22. Photo: AP 

A satellite image shows an oil spill in Playa Cavero, near Ventanilla, Peru. Photo: Maxar Technologies

Workers in a clean-up campaign after an oil spill, on Cavero Beach in the Ventanilla district of Callao, Peru. Photo: AP

A worker checks the carcass of an oil-soaked bird. Photo: AP

Two women drown in Peru after Tonga volcanic eruption 10,000km away

An undersea volcano eruption in Tonga on January 15, 2022. Photo: NICT via AP

Tsunami-hit Tonga’s oiled-up Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua raises over US$340,000 in disaster aid

Tonga flag bearer Pita Taufatofua poses with a volunteer and teammates during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Photo: AP

China pledges aid to Tonga in wake of devastating volcano

Tonga has been largely cut off from the outside world since an underwater volcano erupted on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Americas

Tonga volcanic eruption on January 14 unleashed tsunami waves around the Pacific
Peru coast tarred by 6,000 barrels of oil spilled from a ship unloading at a refinery


Coastal oil spill in Peru was caused by freak waves from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific.


Americas and the Caribbean

Environment

Mauritius

Tonga

Peru declares emergency from oil spill linked to Tonga eruption

Tonga volcanic eruption on January 14 unleashed tsunami waves around the Pacific Peru coast tarred by 6,000 barrels of oil spilled from a ship unloading at a refinery

Tonga volcanic eruption on January 14 unleashed tsunami waves around the Pacific

Peru coast tarred by 6,000 barrels of oil spilled from a ship unloading at a refinery