Work to recover diesel-laden vessel from seabed begins

Umm Al Quwain: The Ministry of Environment has started work on lifting the White Whale, a vessel carrying 450 tonnes of diesel that sank on Saturday. It sank about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Umm Al Quwain and about 25 nautical miles east of Sharjah's Port Khalid.

"We started work on lifting the vessel this morning [Thursday] around 6am," said a senior official with the Ministry of Environment.

She said information provided by the concerned authorities showed that the vessel was stable at the same location on the seabed at a depth of 35 metres. The vessel has not been affected by marine currents.

Dr Mariam Al Shanasi, acting undersecretary at the Ministry of Environment and Water, said the ministry, in collaboration with companies that specialise in dealing with incidents of sinking vessels, had started the first phase of the lifting.

Three phases

The entire process would be carried out in three phases, she added.

The first phase includes scanning and assessing the status of the vessel and its contents and a possible action to close leakages, while the second phase will involve carrying the remaining contents of the diesel tanks to safe floating stations.

The vessel will be lifted in the third phase.

Dr Mariam said the Ministry of Environment was watching over and controlling the entire work in cooperation with main concerned bodies in Umm Al Quwain which had taken all the necessary procedures to prevent an environment disaster and protect the area and fishermen.

She noted that some diesel had leaked from the sunken vessel.

With a view to avoid any possible after-affects that the sinking of the vessel might have caused, the Umm Al Quwain municipality will start checking the fish markets to ensure that the fish is safe for consumption, said an official at Umm Al Quwain Municipality.

"The leakage of diesel into the sea leads to contamination of fish by noxious materials which may affect the consumer with serious diseases," he said stressing that the municipality will inspect the fish put up for sale in the market in order to protect public health.

He added, "The leakage of diesel has led to the emission of a foul smell in the area which cannot be tolerated by the fishermen when they pass by the site of the incident."

Careful

"The distance and wind direction has prevented the spilled diesel being carried to the shores of the emirate," he said.

Gulf News spoke to a few fishermen who said they were careful about going to the sea due to the leakage.

Quick action urged

Ahmad Abdul Rahman, a fisherman from Umm Al Quwain, said "the spread of diesel in the sea will lead to the death of fish and organisms, and will harm marine life along the coast of the emirate".

He urged the concerned authorities to take quick action and recover the vessel and arrange for its disposal in an appropriate manner, in order to preserve fish stocks.

"The situation cannot be delayed, as the vessel contains a large amount of diesel," he said.