Dubai: Eight sailors have been accused of polluting the environment by dumping diesel in UAE seawaters after they illegally sailed in a zone of offshore drilling oil rigs, a court heard on Tuesday.
The eight Iranian sailors — two captains and six sailors — sailed into the UAE maritime borders in an illegal manner and dumped diesel in the seawaters in October.
An Emirati inspector [who works in a government body that monitors the maritime borders and the zone surrounding the offshore oil rigs] spotted the Iranian boat dumping diesel before he contacted the captain and asked him to stop.
Records said when the boat refused to comply, the inspector contacted the coast guards who immediately dispatched a vessel to intercept the violating boat.
Prosecutors charged the eight suspects, aged between 18 and 45, of polluting the UAE environment by dumping diesel in the sea, dealing with hazardous material [diesel], sailing illegally in front of the offshore oil rigs and entering the country illegally.
When the suspects appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday, they denied the accusation of dumping diesel in UAE waters and polluting the environment.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal only levelled one charge [polluting the environment] against the suspects who pleaded not guilty.
One of the boat captains argued in court: “We had a pipe leakage on board our vessel and we had to divert the pipe to the sea to be able to sail and avoid sinking.”
The captain claimed that they did not intend to commit any wrongdoing.
The inspector claimed to prosecutors that he was guarding the offshore oil rigs when he spotted the Iranian vessel sailing nearby and dumping diesel.
“I warned the boat’s captain to stop sailing … when I sailed close to their boat, they changed their direction and sailed away. They were absconding and it was obvious that they had been dumping diesel in the UAE maritime borders. When they sailed away, they did not leave the zone of offshore drilling oil rigs and because they sailed in a small-sized boat they managed to manoeuvre and sail under the oil rigs. I called the coast guards for backup and they managed to block their way and prevent them from running away. The suspects were apprehended and referred to the prosecution,” the inspector testified to prosecutors.
The suspects are expected to be referred to the Dubai Misdemeanours Court to be tried for entering the country illegally, dealing with a dangerous substance [diesel] and illegally sailing in the offshore oil rigs’ zone.
Presiding judge Jamal will hand out a ruling on February 21.
