Umm Al Quwain: As officials work to raise a sunken oil tanker off the UAE shores, a new 34-foot vessel was launched on Wednesday to help protect the marine environment from oil spills and red tide algae blooms.
Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water visited Umm Al Quwain Marine Club yesterday to commission the new ministry vessel which was purchased with all of the technological bells and whistles for Dh500,000 He was joined by ministry Undersecretary Dr Mariam Sanasi.
The minister also boarded a UAE Coast Guard vessel to explore first hand the site of the sunken oil tanker White Whale which is still lying 25 metres below the surface about 35 kilometres offshore since its sinking in October.
A recent four-day exercise to raise the White Whale from the depths was abandoned due to gale force winds earlier this week. The bid to salvage the ship and the 1,000 tonnes of diesel fuel in her holds will continue when stable weather returns to the Gulf.
Coast Guard ships, meanwhile, are patrolling the scene of the sinking to keep other ships from entering the area. "We are banning any boats from entering the area," said a Coast Guard official yesterday.
The new Ministry of Environment and Water marine inspection vessel was named Al Ghawi to honour Sultan Rashid Al Ghawi, long-standing employee of the Centre for Marine Research run by the ministry.
The ministry said it was christening the boat in Al Ghawi's honour in recognition of his long service and contributions to develop the Centre since its inception early in 1983.
