Municipality's oil spill report chronicles string of shortcomings

A highly critical report on the sinking of the Zainab, whose oil cargo polluted beaches in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, has been produced by Dubai Municipality's Environment Department.

The report hits out at the lack of control over elderly ships in Gulf waters, bureaucratic delays in tackling the oil spill, the delay in the arrival of cleaning equipment from Abu Dhabi, the lack of protection for desalination plants and beaches, and the lack of a professionally trained team to combat oil pollution.

The Zainab sank 32 kilometres off Jebel Ali on April 14 after being intercepted by the U.S. Navy on suspicion of smuggling Iraqi oil. The ship, a converted cargo vessel, was believed to be carrying 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil when it foundered.

After the ship sank, more than 1,300 tonnes of the fuel oil is believed to have leaked out, polluting beaches in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman and forcing the closure of desalination plants in Sharjah and Ajman, resulting in water shortages in both emirates.

The Municipality report, excerpts from which were published yesterday in the Arabic daily Al Bayan, says the sinking of the 30-year-old Zainab has "led to remarkable environmental, economic and tourist damage". Among the specific criticisms in the report are:

* The lack of strict controls over Gulf waters, coupled with a lack of modern systems to control the movement of ships.
* The shortage of technical and material support to implement an efficient emergency plan and quick response to a crisis.
* The failure to apply laws governing the safety of ships and to ensure ships meet authorised specifications and standards.
* The long time it took to decide what to do about the sunken ship.
* The delay in assigning a salvage company to pump out the oil remaining in the ship's tanks.
* The slowness of the authorities in acting to combat the oil spill.
* The delay in the arrival of cleaning equipment from Abu Dhabi which led to the random use of chemical dispersants in large quantities.
* The lack of defences to protect public utilities such as desalination plants, tourist beaches and other recreational sites.
* The lack of a professionally trained team to combat oil pollution.

The report says it cost Dubai Municipality Dh4.274 million to deal with the oil spill. It also makes clear that despite early assurances that divers had managed to stop oil leaking from the ship within 24 hours after it sank, oil continued to leak for up to a week. The report sets out the following sequence of events.

On April 14, oil was spotted leaking from the Zainab and the Federal Environment Authority notified Dubai Municipality of the spill. At noon on that day the ship sank and oil flowed from the ship's tanks. At 9pm the authority held a meeting to discuss the situation.

It appointed a company to carry out a survey of the sunken ship and to draw up a plan to follow the movement of the oil. On April 15, limited efforts were made by the Dubai Ports Authority to disperse the oil.

Divers were assigned to block 12 holes in the ship but were only able to block four. A meeting was held in the evening attended by the Dubai Ports Authority, Dubai Police, Coast Guard, Dubai Electricity and Water Department, and Dubai Municipality to discuss the crisis.

On April 16 early morning fog restricted visibility. Chemical dispersants were used in three locations opposite the Dubai Dry Dock and the entrance to Port Rashid. The Municipality distributed 400 workers along Jumeirah beach to clean it up.

By noon, equipment to combat the slick had still not arrived and a helicopter was used to spread chemical dispersants. Mechanical equipment which could be used to lift oil remained in Abu Dhabi. Another crisis meeting was held in the evening.

On April 17 strong winds, blowing from the north, pushed the oil slick along the Dubai coast to Sharjah. Requests for additional supplies of dispersants were sent to neighbouring countries. The use of dispersants was stopped because the chemicals were affecting the inlets of Sharjah's desalination plant.

On April 18 the northerly winds grew stronger, forcing the suspension of efforts to combat the spill at sea. As a result, oil came ashore on Jumeirah beach and some oil entered Port Rashid. A floating barrier was used to prevent pollution of Al Mamzar Creek.

On April 19 the wind speed was still high, but efforts to clean oil from the beaches and Port Rashid resumed. The wind pushed the oil towards Al Mamzar Creek and Sharjah. On April 20 the report of the company asked to evaluate the situation of the oil tanker was issued.

It said that the Zainab had 12 tanks and that oil continued to flow out of them. The company was given the task of pumping the remaining oil from the ship. On April 27, two weeks after the Zainab had sunk, work began on pumping out the remaining oil.