State Department Confirms International Outreach On BP Oil Spill

The Gulf of Mexico loop current appears to be destabilizing thanks to a cyclone of cold water – good news for Florida, Cuba and the East Coast, at least temporarily.

But there is still a real possibility that oil from the BP Deepwater disaster could continue spreading toward the southeastern Gulf, where it may reach international waters and impact Cuba.

The State Department communicated with Cuba yesterday in a “good neighbor” gesture, according to Charles Luoma-Overstreet, State Department spokesperson for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Mr. Luoma-Overstreet told me that, under the terms of the Cartagena Convention, the nations have a duty to alert each other whenever environmental threats at sea emerge.

“In responding to oil spill incidents, countries have a general obligation to cooperate to protect both the marine and coastal environments to the extent possible and within their capabilities,” he said.

Mr. Luoma-Overstreet confirmed that the U.S. presented a diplomatic note to the Cuban foreign ministry yesterday informing Cuba of the spill and its projected movement for the first time.  Cuba “acknowledged” receipt of the information, however, he said the State Department did not consider this a formal diplomatic exchange.

He said the U.S. is “not going to avoid any moral or legal obligation to talk to Cuba,” but that the State Department is “not anticipating” holding higher-level talks with Cuba at this time.

The State Department sent similar diplomatic notes to the Bahamas, Mexico, and the Marshall Islands – the latter because, prior to sinking, Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands, which has “less stringent requirements than the United States,” according to The Times-Picayune.

The United States and Mexico are currently sharing information about the spill under the MEXUS Plan, a bilateral agreement on pollution incidents in coastal waters.

Mr. Luoma-Overstreet also confirmed that the U.S. government has not accepted any offers of assistance from foreign nations, although BP has accepted some help from Norway and Mexico, he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard has received offers to assist in various ways from the following nations:

Canada
Mexico
Korea
Croatia
France
Germany
Ireland
Japan
Netherlands
Norway
Romania
Russia
Spain
Sweden
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Vietnam

The European Union also offered to help by coordinating the European response, should the State Department begin accepting any offers of foreign assistance.