Gulf of Mexico oil spill response officials in Mexico said an oil spill first reported in early March spread hundreds of miles and contaminated multiple protected areas, while also pointing to natural oil seeps as part of the explanation for its reach. The government released preliminary findings on Thursday after weeks of controversy that officials had not provided enough information about the case, according to the report.
Navy secretary Admiral Raymundo Morales said the spill extended more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) and included areas reaching seven nature reserves in the eastern state of Veracruz and in Tabasco. Morales also said authorities ruled out the possibility of severe environmental damage from the spill off the Veracruz coast.
Morales said satellite image analysis and inspections in the area identified three sources tied to the release. He said one source involved a vessel anchored off the coast of Coatzacoalcos, also in Veracruz, while another involved a geological site where crude oil naturally seeps, known as a “chapopotera,” located 8 kilometers (5 miles) from that port. Morales added that a third source was another natural seepage located in the Bay of Campeche.
Morales said the vessel’s identity remained unknown as of early March because 13 ships were sailing in the area and had not yet been inspected. He also told reporters that the spill “remains active,” and said one of the main sources was estimated to be the “natural seeps in Cantarell, in the Bay of Campeche,” describing those oil seeps as a constant natural emission but saying the flow of contaminants had been greater in the last month.
Mexico’s Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena said the spill affected the seven protected natural reserves in Veracruz and Tabasco, while insisting that the government had “not detected severe environmental damage.” Bárcena and other officials said environmental authorities identified six species—sea turtles, birds and fish—found to be contaminated by the spill.
The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, known as Conanp, said hydrocarbons were collected in several protected areas, including the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, the Veracruz Reef System National Park, the Lechuguillas Sanctuary, the Totonacapan Beaches Sanctuary, and the Lobos Tuxpan Reef System Flora and Fauna Protection Area. Conanp also said cleanup and collection efforts occurred in south of the Rancho Nuevo Beach Sanctuary in Veracruz, and in the Centla Wetlands Biosphere Reserve in Tabasco.
Morales also compared the March incident to an earlier one, saying five months earlier heavy rains and flooding caused a pipeline rupture and a spill in Veracruz that extended for 8 kilometers (5 miles) along the Pantepec River. For the March spill, Morales said the oil covered an area of about 600 kilometers (373 miles), including 200 kilometers (125 miles) of coastline in the southern states of Veracruz and Tabasco, and that, to date, “430 tons of hydrocarbons” had been collected.
Beyond Mexico’s preliminary assessment, Oceana, an ocean conservation group, said in a statement that community reports from the Gulf of Mexico Reef Corridor Network described the spill as killing sea turtles, a manatee and various fish species, and as damaging 17 reefs.