"Trinidad and Tobago's National Emergency: Examining the Offshore Oil Spill"

An overturned barge leaking oil off the coast of Tobago in the Caribbean has caused beaches to be blackened by a dark, sticky fluid, prompting a national emergency declaration by Prime Minister Keith Rowley. The vessel, which was being towed from Panama to Guyana, has led to round-the-clock cleanup efforts, with the extent of the spill and the cause of the overturn still unknown. Trinidad and Tobago, as the largest oil producer in the Caribbean, is deploying resources to contain the spill and protect its important tourism sector.