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January 15, 2022 was the last day that Germán Melchor, a 57-year-old Peruvian fisherman, went fishing in his small rowboat, as he had done every day for 40 years. That day will be marked by a disaster in the Peruvian sea after 11,900 barrels of oil spilled off the coast of La Pampilla, a refinery owned by Spanish company Repsol in Callao, south of the Peruvian capital.
“It’s been a year since the oil spill and I still can’t go back to the sea to make a decent living from my lifelong trade,” said Germán, who is now president of the Pasamayo Fishermen’s Association and tasked with accommodating the demands represented by 45 artisanal fishermen.
For German and his colleagues, the events of a year ago changed their lives dramatically. And although they still arrive on the shores of the Pasamayo Sea every morning, they do so today to capture photo and video evidence of how contamination persists on the shores of the sea on the shores of Ventanilla, 40 kilometers north of Lima .
What they are witnessing is the aftermath of an oil spill at the La Pampilla refinery a year ago, when while unloading crude oil from a ship from Brazil, the underwater hoses of the transport structure ruptured. For days, the extent of the emergency was not entirely clear to them. Repsol, the management company, initially said the spilled oil was only 7 or 8 liters. A few days later he corrected himself by saying that 6,000 barrels had been dumped into the water.
Cleanup workers collect the remains of the oil spill at Playa Cavero on February 15, 2022. Paolo Aguilar (EFE)
The final reports concluded that 11,900 barrels of oil were actually affected on 10,000 hectares stretching more than 200 kilometers north of the original spill site. The effects of the disaster were unprecedented: Thousands of animals were affected by the oil, including mammals, birds, fish and crustaceans. In addition, more than 48 beaches have been contaminated, including two protected areas, and at least 2,500 fishermen and hundreds of coastal workers lost their livelihoods overnight.
closed beaches
According to Repsol, the results of its physico-chemical analysis studies for hydrocarbon content, carried out last October, confirm that the beaches affected by the spill are clean and suitable for both fishing and tourist entry. In his only media appearance, Luis Vásquez, Director of Communications at The company explained on Channel N that “all the evidence” the company had access to suggests it’s safe to go to the beach. “There is no hydrocarbon content and if there is, it is below environmental quality standards that pose a risk to human health or the ecosystem,” he explained in this interview.
In its latest report, the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Control (OEFA), a body affiliated with Peru’s Ministry of the Environment, has registered 71 sites that remain affected, including beaches, islands and protected areas. However, the vast majority of beaches affected by the oil spill remain preventively closed, both for fishermen and bathers. América Futura has contacted the company to verify this information but has not received a response.
When asked about the studies commissioned by Repsol showing that the beaches are clean, Germán Melchor thickens his voice and says helplessly that the water is still contaminated. “It’s a lie. The oil is still there and we don’t know how long it will take nature to clean everything up. The government doesn’t support us either and doesn’t give us an answer as to how long the water will be contaminated.” , he says in frustration, showing on his phone photos he took this morning of rocks covered with debris Crude oil can be seen.
For Juan Carlos Riveros, scientific director of the organization Oceana Peru, not only was Repsol’s response to the spill late, but it was incomplete as it lacked the resources to deal with an emergency of this magnitude. “Unfortunately, the cleanup process wasn’t fast or efficient enough. In practice, as of October 2022, out of the 97 sites monitored, more than 60 had oil spills on the shore,” explains Riveros, who understands that Repsol’s greatest negligence was not having the equipment needed to deal with an emergency to become something like that.
“Even if Repsol wanted or tried to contain the spill in time, it had no means. According to customs documents, the products, materials and equipment needed to deal with the emergency only arrived between January 28 and 30, two weeks after the spill,” he emphasizes. The biologist also points out that the state is responsible for the consequences of the disaster responsible for failing to monitor that the companies operating in the Peruvian sea have the necessary equipment in case of an emergency.
The contaminated water of Playa Cavero after the January 2022 oil spill. Martin Mejía (AP)
Neither repair nor rework
In essence, OEFA imposed five fines totaling 23 million soles (just over $6 million) on Repsol, paid between March and April. In addition, the regulator of energy and mining investments (Osinergmin) fined him another 9.8 million soles (2.5 million) for not adequately supporting the actions he would take in the event of a new oil spill would have. However, the company legalized the fine, preventing payment.
On the other hand, according to Repsol Peru’s website, the company has paid compensation advances to 9,800 people, while 6,000 victims have signed definitive compensation agreements.
However, Germán Melchor assures that the company has not fulfilled the promise to pay compensation advances of 3,000 soles per month (around $787) and even says that in one year they only received eight bonuses (instead of 12). under pressure from various fishing associations. In any case, for Germán and his colleagues, the amount does not cover what they earned before the disaster. “Without fishing, life is about surviving on the 3,000 soles that Repsol spends when it feels like it or when it feels pressured by the media,” explains Melchor.
But where there is perhaps even more obscurantism is in the compensation agreements the company has signed with nearly 6,000 fishermen. Riveros believes the lawsuit has harmed the interests of those affected, who must deal with the company individually and without government support.
“Compensation agreements should be transparent and openly accessible to imply that there is a positive commitment on the part of the company to a solution. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and today the agreements deprive those affected of many opportunities to engage in other legal proceedings to pursue their claims and ensure that the compensation received is fair. The parameters by which the company estimated these compensations are not known, to the point that the amounts have not been disclosed, and even the people who signed these agreements have been warned that they do not have the details of the document can disclose. They didn’t even provide them with a copy of the agreement,” reveals Riveros. When questioned on the matter, Melchor confirms what the Oceana scientist said.
In addition, both the organization and Melchor agree that the company appears to be reluctant to take over the recovery plans that the company has been slated to execute but have not yet submitted to the appropriate government agencies. “From Repsol they tell us to go to work, do our job. But what will we fish if there are no species? Returning home empty-handed? We demand that they clean up the beach first. Then it’s time to bring in brood of different species so they can grow, reproduce and get to work over time,” explains Melchor, who suspects collusion between government officials and Repsol.
But how likely is it that a similar catastrophe will occur in Peru? Riveros is blunt. “The catastrophe could happen the day after tomorrow and everything would be the same. The legal and administrative framework has practically not changed at all, so if an event like this were to repeat itself, we would continue to have the same flaws in the inspection and control systems.”
Melchor is not optimistic either. “Repsol’s economic power is very big and we are not able to fight this monster. But what we have is the dignity to keep fighting for our rights.”