Mexico Announces 600 km Oil Spill Affecting Reserves

Mexican authorities announced on Thursday that an oil spill detected in early March along the Gulf of Mexico coast has spread more than 600 kilometers, affecting seven protected nature reserves in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco, though officials maintain no severe environmental damage has occurred.

The spill, first reported washing up on beaches in southern Veracruz and northern Tabasco, originated from three sources, according to satellite imagery and on-site inspections conducted by the Mexican Navy. Navy Secretary Admiral Raymundo Morales stated at a press conference that the primary contributors included an unidentified vessel anchored near the port of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz, a natural crude oil seepage known as a chapopotera about 8 kilometers from the port, and another seepage in the Bay of Campeche. "These oil seeps have a constant, natural emission; however, there has been a greater flow of contaminants in the last month," Morales said. He noted that the vessel remains unidentified because 13 ships in the area had not been fully inspected as of early March, and the spill source is still active.

The contamination covered approximately 200 kilometers of coastline,...