SANTO DOMINGO.- The Environment Ministry (Semarena) fined the Liberian-flag freighter and its proprietor Niels Jules RD$7 million to cleanup the oil spill of around 1,000 gallons of fuel oil in the Caucedo multimodal port, Boca Chica.

Semarena resolution 02-2008 of March 7 imposes a RD$7 million fine to the company Seaboard Caribbean, to repair the damages caused to the two beaches next to the port.

The Environment Prosecutor’s Office said another case is also pending in court because the spill affected the area’s ecosystem, including fish, corals and seaweed, and "a potential loss of generation and diverse marine and coastal flora and fauna populations, which for certain species could imply from 3 to 10 years for their recovery or regeneration," said the technical report.