Search still on to find ‘true owners’ of Solo Creed
Gail Alexander
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the Solo Creed tugboat and those associated with it were operating illegally and took many steps to hide their identities. Some of the steps include allegedly falsifying relevant documents.
“Let it be known as a fact that the people who were involved set about to hide their identity and acted illegally, so it’s not an easy trace (of the owner/s). But the Government is on the job and if they are to be found, we’ll find them, the Prime Minister said in Parliament yesterday.
The Solo Creed had been towing the Gulfstream barge which capsized off Tobago in February, causing a huge oil spill off the island’s southern coast.
Responding to a question regarding the arrest of the Solo Creed in Angola by T&T officials, Rowley said the real owners are yet to be identified.
“Government continues to seek the identification of the owner/owners of the Solo Creed. Unfortunately, to date the true owner/owners of this vessel have not been located. The Government continues to seek the assistance of various governments and international bodies in ascertaining this information.
“Unfortunately the vessel and those associated with it were operating illegally and took many steps to hide their identities, including, it appears, with falsifying relevant documents,” he said.
Rowley added that the Energy Minister two weeks ago discussed various options with the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund in London for further assistance in identifying those who are responsible for the oil spill.
He said the IOPC was working “with us to finalise the compensation.”
“If we’re to make a successful claim with the IOPC, we have to show we’ve taken all reasonable steps to identify the perpetrators of this illegal action against us. So to say that the action we’ve taken is ‘useless’ is to not understand what we’re doing at all.”
TTPS vetted unit
The Prime Minister also gave an update on the vetted unit in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, after the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to establish the unit.
Rowley said the proposed composition of the vetted unit will include members of law enforcement entities in T&T with the authority to investigate major transnational organised crime.
“They’ll be supported by the US DEA during their investigations. Extensive stakeholders/consultations were held over the past year from initiation of this proposal,” he said.
He added the vetted unit will be under the Police Commissioner’s control.
He said he would not venture into the compensation package for officers.
The post Search still on to find ‘true owners’ of Solo Creed first appeared on CNC3.