March 2015, an accident involving 2 ships of the transpetro during an operation known as Ship-to-ship, dumped an immense amount of oil into the sea of Angra dos Reis. At the time, the secretariat and state institute for the environment (INEA) suspended operations of this type in Ilha Grande Bay.
"It was a decision politically wrong of Secretary Carlos Minc, which is now being technically and financially reversed to protect the state of Rio de Janeiro and the city”, says Fernando Jordão, current mayor of Angra dos Reis.
In addition to the environmental disaster, the accident and, consequently, the suspension of operations, caused financial damage to the municipality's accounts and planning. A little over 2 years after the accident, Transpetro carried out the first test of the transshipment operations at the Baia da Ilha Grande terminal (TEBIG).
On Friday morning (12), INEA technicians, representatives of the Brazilian Navy, Mayor Jordão, Deputy Mayor Manoel Parente, the secretary of economic development, the Mayor and Councilor José Augusto and the councilor Canindé do Social.
” The municipality of Angra is going through a very complicated crisis, as well as the state and the country. Here we are losing money for municipal collection. So INEA grants this release to authorize the resumption of transshipments in the region because it is now safe for the environment. So much so that we are here on the ship as calmly as possible.” Says councilor Canindé do Social.
The state secretary for the environment André Correira did not attend the test: 'It only remains to say that for the city hall, the secretary of environment and the Brazilian Navy there are no problems. The issue today is in the hands of INEA, which is present today with its technicians and, unfortunately, Secretary José Corrêa, who should be here due to the complexity of the operation and the importance, which does not only involve Angra dos Reis. When we talk about the economy, the damage is for the city, for the state of Rio and for Brazil as a whole, because ships stopped coming to Brazil. Because taxes such as ISS, ICMS, royalties and etc… that complement the city's income are no longer collected”, says the councilor Zé Augusto in a critical and indignant way.
The test simulated all transshipment operations, that is, the transfer of oil from one vessel to another. The municipality recognizes the importance of the presence of Transpetro in Angra, the Petrobras subsidiary responsible for the operation, for the local economy.
” The municipality will earn today around 200 million reais that will enter the coffers of the prefecture that will generate jobs, resources and improve the quality of life… Anyway, this money will be very useful and very well used by the current management”, says enthusiastic Aurélio Marques, executive secretary of Industry and Commerce.
If authorized by INEA, the return of this type of operation in Ilha Grande Bay will represent a major boost to public coffers.
The mayor adds: “I want to protect this beautiful bay, but I also want Angra not to lose the resource. The city's money was going to Espirito Santo, São Paulo and the city getting poorer and poorer. If we have the terminal and old investments in Brazil that are important for Petrobras here, it is much cheaper to carry out operations here, in calm and sheltered waters.”
When contacted by TV Câmara, INEA did not respond to calls or messages. Transpetro, in a note, declared that it had successfully carried out all the tests at the Angra dos Reis terminal, depending now only on INEA to release the license.
Source:https://goo.gl/6CV8qs
Transcript of the article: TV Camera
