On January 26, the people and authorities were shocked to find, that an oil spill had hit the Fujaira coast.
What happened?
After investigation, it was found that the oil spill was a result of tankers cleaning out their holds, illegally. The oil spill was made up of residue cleaned from within the tanks carried out in an illegal manner.
General manager of Fujairah port, Capt Mousa Murad, who has called for 24-hour monitoring of ships to tackle the issue said, “The recent spills have been caused by tank cleaning by passing ships. Especially when tankers change from [carrying] one product to another”.
Clean up launched
The oil spill had reportedly come from International waters and could hit Dibba, Fujairah or Khor Fakkan.
Capt Murad said, “The port is working with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the UAE Armed Forces to address the problem. Apart from individual states, the Arabian Gulf is monitored by the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre and the Regional Organisation for the Protection of the Marine Environment”.
The Captain stressed that the situation requires 24 hour surveillance and stressed that these are precautions taken in Europe, Scandinavia and Japan so that take immediate action is taken when someone is polluting the water.
UAE plagued by oil spills
Last year, the east coast of the UAE was hit by several oil slicks. The UAE’s territory extends to 12 nautical miles in water. Under the UAE’s Federal Law No 24, all marine means of transportation are prohibited from discharging or disposing of oil or oil mixture into the marine environment. Penalties include imprisonment and fines of up to Dh1 million. But most of these incidents happen in international waters where it becomes more difficult to police.
Salah Al Rayssi, director of the fisheries sustainability department at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment stressed that, “The UAE has enacted laws banning the throwing of waste and oil sludge into the water by the hundreds of tankers operating in the region. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment works closely with local authorities to respond in real-time to oil spill incidents by overseeing the clean-up of contaminated beaches along the east coast of the UAE and finding the perpetrators, holding them accountable for their actions.”
Mr Al Rayssi said the ministry is working to enhance an oil-spill monitoring and detection system. Ship-to-ship transfers happen when a smaller vessel supplies a larger one with oil and spills from overflow can happen through negligence or by accident.
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Source: The National
