Beach resorts bear the brunt

Frequent oil slicks washing up on beaches along the East Coast have irritated resort hotel managers - who say a law should be passed to protect the environment.

The latest oil spill happened last Thursday evening. The area around Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Hotel in Fujairah suffered the most, but a member of staff said they managed to clear up the pollution within a day.

"The municipality helped us clear up the damage and it was under control after a day. It was very
time-consuming work because the oil comes and goes with the tides.

"This has happened a couple of times already this year. Some of the clients were a bit upset because they spend a lot of money to enjoy a seaside holiday," said the source.

According to other hotels oil spills like this have happened more than 10 times already.

Joseph Aboudip, general manager of the Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort, said this time they were lucky because there was no damage to their beach.

"Spills often happen on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays.

"We have complained to the Fujairah authorities but they do not have the resources to deal with oil slicks, but they are helping us to keep the beaches clean.

"It is a major problem, but it isn't in the municipality's capacity to have chemicals and machines to clean up the ocean, it is up to the federal government to protect these zones," said Aboudip.