 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Peru is in the midst of dealing with a major oil spill off the coast of the Calao region, just 30 kilometers from the capital city Lima. On January 15th, 6,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into the ocean while a tanker was unloading at the La Pampía refinery. The facility is the largest in Peru and is owned by the Spanish oil company Repsol. The spill has caused extensive damage to two protected zones, which are home to diverse plant and animal life. As of January 23rd, 7.1 million square meters of ocean and 1.8 million square meters of coastline had been affected. Thousands of birds and fish have died and at least 21 beaches in the Lima and Calao region have been contaminated. The disaster has also impacted the livelihoods of over 3,000 fishermen in the area. Peru's government has declared a 90-day environmental emergency, declaring the spill the worst ecological disaster to hit the country in recent history. President Pedro Castillo has said that his administration will ensure that Repsol complies with its criminal, civil and administrative responsibilities. The disaster has caused the most concern for the Peruvian coastline in recent times. That is why it is significant that in this critical context we are promoting the supreme decree that declares the climate emergency nationally. Here we cannot rebuy responsibilities. It is about assuming them. Repsol could stand to face up to 34 million dollars in fines. Thousands of fishermen and citizens have been staging sit-ins and protests demanding that Repsol compensate the affected communities. Repsol had initially described this spill as limited. On the night of January 15th, it informed Peruvian authorities that only 0.16 barrels of oil was spilled affecting 2.5 square meters. It blamed the incident on sudden waves caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga. However, Peru's navy has stated that the swell had nothing to do with the rupture of the oil infrastructure that preceded the spill. The captain of the Italian ship Mare d'Oricum, which was involved in the spill, has also issued a letter of protest. As reported by Elpe is, Captain Giacomo Pisano has accused Repsol of making nine mistakes after the spill on January 15. Pisano's letter states that Repsol did not communicate how much crude oil it had offloaded to the ship's crew. This would have made it possible to calculate the precise volume of the leak. After the oil spill, Repsol told the crew that the contamination was under control. However, Pisano and his crew found that the barrier for oil containment was not long enough to cover the length of the ship. Among other revelations, Pisano's letter reaffirms reports that the water was calm on January 15. Meanwhile, Peru's environmental assessment and enforcement agency reported a second oil spill at La Pampia on January 25. According to a statement, the spill occurred during the removal of the pipeline end manifolds which is underwater equipment for the transfer of hydrocarbons. The removal is necessary to determine the cause of the original spill on January 15. The agency has initiated environmental supervision to verify the cause, the impact and the implementation of a contingency plan with Repsol.