We welcome Minister Navarro’s courage to start asking the right questions about the Puerto Baru project.

The questions posed by Minister Navarro were clearly overlooked by the previous administration and are poorly addressed by Puerto Baru’s current Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

This is why the EIS needs to be urgently re-examined.

Independent scientific assessment conducted by a leading US environmental modelling firm Lynker already answers some of Minister Navarro’s question, left unanswered by the developers.

How will the dredging be done?

The dredging will involve the use of two Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) and a Backhoe Dredger (BHD), with estimated sediment spill percentages of 3% to 5%.

As per Lynker, these fine sediments will unavoidably become suspended and spilled during dredging operations, especially when using a backhoe dredger, thereby putting the nearby coral reefs at Parque Nacional Golfo de Chiriquí are at high risk of being impacted by sediments transported by the tide.

Dredging activities are also likely to have detrimental effects on the mangrove ecosystem due to sedimentation, changes in salinity, and disruption of ecological connectivity.

Where will the material be deposited to avoid sedimentation?

Puerto Barú Dredging Material Disposal Site is located only 9 km away from the coral reefs at Parque Nacional Golfo de Chiriquí, within the estuary where tidal currents would be expected to be strongest.

As per Lynker, this represents a significant risk of environmental impact on the reefs as fine sediments may eventually settle in sensitive areas.

Lynker concludes that improper techniques were applied in the sediment dispersion and hydrodynamic modelling used in the EIS to assess the fate and transport of this disposed sediment.

These findings cast doubt on the EIS’s conclusions regarding the minimal impact of dredging on mangroves and nearby protected areas.

How many ships will navigate through the access channel and how many at the same time? How many per day, how many per week, how many per year?

The Puerto Baru EIS claims that 1.7 to 2.5 ships per day will use the port. That is between 11.9 and 17.5 ships per week.

Lynker concludes that even with a low estimated vessel density, the cumulative risk of ship strikes remains a significant threat to migratory and resident species.

This is especially the case as observational data show that humpback whales, Bryde’s whales, hawksbill sea turtles, critically endangered Pacific small tail sharks, common bottlenose dolphins, and the pantropical spotted dolphins inhabit the Gulf of Chiriquí, including areas near the proposed shipping routes.

Moreover, numerous sightings of the endangered green sea turtle have been noted in areas closest to the proposed port facilities.

What happens when ships are simultaneously entering and leaving a narrow channel in the middle of the mangrove?

While the EIS provides preliminary plans for establishing a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) and maximum vessel approach speeds in the Gulf of Chiriquí, the question of enforcing these measures and their efficiency remains to be seen.

Scientific studies indicate that the compliance of ships to the TSS and speed limits introduced in 2014 in the Gulf of Panama was poor.

Even if most vessels adhere to the TSS, Lynker concludes that vessels will necessarily have to cross humpback whale habitat to enter the navigation channel.

It is therefore reasonable to assume that neither establishing a TSS nor implementing speed limitations would be sufficient measure to reduce the probability of ship-whale strikes.

Could there be a catastrophic fuel spill?

Independent scientific research by Lynker has been clear that “once the port becomes operational, it is highly likely that increased vessel traffic would negatively disrupt marine life through underwater noise pollution, the potential for spills, and the increased likelihood of ship strikes, posing risks to resident species within and outside nearby protected areas.”