More than forty kilometers of coastline north of Lima are affected by the oil slick that continues to spread. Article by Amanda Chaparro for Le Monde.
The accident, which occurred on 15 January during an operation to unload crude oil at the La Pampilla refinery, owned by the Spanish group Repsol, led to an unprecedented oil spill in the country, soiling more than forty kilometers of coastline, twenty-one beaches and two protected natural reserves. According to the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, the equivalent of 12,000 barrels of oil, not 6,000, spilled into the Pacific on January 15. More than a third of it has been recovered.
An employee of a Repsol-funded company clean up the beach in Ancon. None of them have any experience in environmental disaster management. Fuel is recovered with shovels, sweepers and buckets. North of Lima, Peru, January 27, 2022
A cormorant found on the beach of Ancon. The oil that covers it prevents it from flying.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima, Peru.
The oil is recovered with shovels, brushes and buckets.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima.
A group of people hired by a company financed by Repsol are cleaning the beach of Ventanilla with few tools. They are using pieces of cloth to remove crude oil from the surface of the sea after the spill of more than 1.65 million liters on January 15, 2022. None of the workers have any experience in this field.
Pilar Ayala, biologist, carries a cormorant found on the beach of Ancon. She takes care of penguins, birds and otters. Only 50% of the recovered animals survive.
Biologists recover a bird contaminated by oil on one of the Pescadores islands, north of Lima.
Fishermen from Ventanilla and their families gather at the entrance of the refinery of the Spanish group Repsol.
A group of people hired by a company financed by Repsol are cleaning the beach of Ventanilla with few tools. They are using pieces of cloth to remove crude oil from the surface of the sea after the spill of more than 1.65 million liters on January 15, 2022. None of the workers have any experience in this field.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima.
An employee of a Repsol-funded company clean up the beach in Ancon. None of them have any experience in environmental disaster management. Fuel is recovered with shovels, sweepers and buckets. North of Lima, Peru, January 27, 2022
A cormorant found on the beach of Ancon. The oil that covers it prevents it from flying.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima, Peru.
The oil is recovered with shovels, brushes and buckets.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima.
A group of people hired by a company financed by Repsol are cleaning the beach of Ventanilla with few tools. They are using pieces of cloth to remove crude oil from the surface of the sea after the spill of more than 1.65 million liters on January 15, 2022. None of the workers have any experience in this field.
Pilar Ayala, biologist, carries a cormorant found on the beach of Ancon. She takes care of penguins, birds and otters. Only 50% of the recovered animals survive.
Biologists recover a bird contaminated by oil on one of the Pescadores islands, north of Lima.
Fishermen from Ventanilla and their families gather at the entrance of the refinery of the Spanish group Repsol.
A group of people hired by a company financed by Repsol are cleaning the beach of Ventanilla with few tools. They are using pieces of cloth to remove crude oil from the surface of the sea after the spill of more than 1.65 million liters on January 15, 2022. None of the workers have any experience in this field.
Crude oil on the beach of Ancon, north of Lima.
Florence Goupil
Freelance photographer and storyteller based in Peru. National Geographic Explorer.