Drone comes in handy for Marine Dept’s clean-up work

KOTA TINGGI: The Marine Department Malaysia (southern region) is using drone technology to record images and videos of the oil slick in the waters off Tanjung Balau here to identify affected areas and plan clean-up work.

Its director, Dickson Dollah, said the drone had helped the department’s personnel to estimate the extent of the oil-to-sea discharge.

“It is common to use drones to monitor oil spills in the sea. This is because we can have a clear aerial view of the slick and where it is heading, whether further out or to nearby beaches.

“That way, we can make the next move, including coming up with a plan to clean up the slick,” he said on board the Marine Department’s boat, Al Nilam, yesterday.

Dickson said the special drone was supervised by the Marine Department’s emergency unit and was deployed since the first day of the oil spill.

“The emergency unit follows the boat. It does not only assist with the clean-up work, but also comes in handy in the event of a shipwreck. We have the expertise to handle the drone, which can record pictures and videos as evidence and store information for future reference.”

According to Dickson, the drone would record pictures and videos of ship movements.

He said drones were used by the Marine Department in three circumstances: shipwreck investigations, salvaging operations and oil spills.

Bernama yesterday reported that the authorities had suspected that foreign tankers had discharged marine fuel into the sea, resulting in an oil slick off Kota Tinggi on Wednesday.

Quoting Dickson, it said satellite images had captured several vessels anchoring for more than two days from April 14 in the waters off Tanjung Balau and Batu Layar, where the slick was detected.

Dickson believed these ships could have discharged the fuel at night to avoid detection, and they had since left the area.

He estimated 300 tonnes of marine fuel oil had been dumped, covering an area of about four nautical miles from the coast.

A clean-up operation had been launched yesterday, he said, adding that it could take three to four days to clear the slick.