A tug believed to be responsible for a $244m oil spill in Trinidad and Tobago has been arrested in Angola.

The Caribbean nation’s finance minister, Colm Imbert, told its senate that the Solo Creed was held on 18 October through the attorney general’s office, local media company Newsday reported.

Trinidad and Tobago started a clean-up operation after a barge called Gulfstream washed up on its shores in February, leaking fuel across beaches, coral reefs and mangroves.