A bulk carrier moored at a wharf along Guyana’s Demerara River spilled oil on Thursday, prompting an emergency response from authorities, the country’s maritime regulator said.
The Palau-flagged AROYAT (IMO 9151395) was docked at the Demerara Sugar Terminal (DST) in Ruimveldt to load rice when the spill occurred, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) said Thursday night. The incident was reported around 5 p.m. local time.
The vessel arrived in Georgetown earlier on Thursday after departing Cape Town, South Africa, in mid-April, according to publicly available vessel tracking data.
A coordinated response was launched immediately involving MARAD, the Civil Defence Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard. Authorities said efforts were underway to stop the leak and contain the spill.
“An active investigation into the cause(s) of the incident is ongoing,” MARAD said.
In response to questions about the type of oil released or the volume the vessel was carrying, the agency said those details would be disclosed upon completion of the probe.
The spill comes as Guyanese lawmakers are set to debate the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Responsibility Bill in Parliament on Friday. The bill, tabled by Prime Minister Mark Phillips late last month, seeks to establish a comprehensive legal framework for preventing, managing, and compensating for oil spill incidents within the country’s territory.
Guyana, a fast-growing crude oil producer, is under increasing pressure to strengthen environmental safeguards amid a sharp increase in maritime and offshore petroleum activity.
