Dominican Republic retains freighter on oil spill

Santo Domingo.- The Panamanian freighter which spilled around 500 liters of ail in the Caucedo Multimodal Port will be kept in the country until a legal solution is reached, said Environment Ministry spokesman Mayo Rodriguez, who said penalties will be sought for its crew.

He said operations in the port, which is the country’s top freight handler, began to normalize around noon yesterday. “The boat will be sanctioned regardless of the fact that the situation is corrected. It’s like when an involuntary homicide is committed”

The official said the authorities acted quickly to prevent the accidental spill’s crude from spreading to the coast, which would’ve seriously damaged the ecosystem and the beach.

The freighter MSC Ronit is operated by Maritima Dominicana and MSC Dominicana.