An industry executive, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the lack of maintenance appears to have damaged valves in the ballast system used to stabilize the ship. Today it dangerously leans more than 5 degrees on its right side, the executive said. A potential spill in the shallow inland sea that Venezuela shares with Trinidad & Tobago could damage fragile mangroves, fisheries and bird sanctuaries. But U.S. sanctions that ban Americans from doing business with Venezuela could scare off many foreign companies from getting involved. Consilium, compared the Venezuelan tanker to the FSO Safer, which has been decaying for years off the coast of Yemen with more than 1 million barrels of oil.

Source: International New York Times September 02, 2020 19:41 UTC