IOPC BEGINS GULFSTREAM OIL SPILL PAYOUT
The International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund estimates that £4.2 million ($38 million TT) will be paid for the Gulfstream oil spill off Tobago, with compensation now underway but expected to continue until 2027.
A report issued ahead of the IOPC’s November meeting in London revealed £10 million was raised in a special Gulfstream Major Claims Fund, though only £1 million had been disbursed by June 30, 2025. An additional £21.5 million is projected for the period between July 2025 and March 2027. On September 12, the IOPC stated that Claims Manager Mark Homan visited Trinidad and Tobago, meeting with officials and surveying affected areas. Talks addressed the sale of recovered oil and disposal of cleanup waste, which remains stored in pits at the Studley Park dump with no removal timeline. The Gulfstream overturned off Cove on February 7th, 2024, spilling thousands of barrels of bunker fuel. The tug Solo Creed, once detained in Angola, remains missing despite satellite tracking efforts.
