Abu Dhabi: An oil spill reported in Fujairah is a consequence of an incident that occurred outside UAE territorial waters, said Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water.
"We believe the oil spill happened in international waters and spread to the Fujairah coast. The Fujairah Municipality is currently cleaning up the waters, and the matter will only be referred to federal bodies if the situation is serious," Dr Bin Fahad said.
'Not dangerous'
He added that the amount of oil spilt was not dangerous and that no serious damage or casualties had been reported so far. There are also no reports of fish deaths.
"We know that such incidents occur from time to time, either because of small and unrecorded collisions between ships, or because large vessels sometimes dump debris and oil cleaners used to clean them into the sea. We are still not aware of the exact cause of the oil spill, but the coast is being monitored to ensure that ships do not spoil the waters," he said.
The Ministry of Environment and Water will also request the UAE Cabinet to contact neighbouring countries to assist in monitoring coastlines to guard against such incidents in future and to ensure that the violators are penalised, he added.
