Municipality acts fast to recover 16 tonnes of goods after ship sinks in Dubai Creek
Dubai Municipality has recovered 16.3 tonnes of goods and waste from a commercial ship that sank in Dubai Creek on Thursday.
Talib Julfar, assistant director-general of environment and public health services at Dubai Municipality, said the ship set out at dawn on Thursday but collided with one of the breakerwater and sank.
“Considering the sensitivity of the site and to stop the spread of goods in the water, a specialised team was called in,” he said.
“The site was surrounded with a sea barrier, preventing the spread of floating waste in the Creek waters because of the sea currents.
“The team recovered goods fallen from the ship, mostly electrical appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, which are dangerous to the marine environment.”
Mr Julfar said Dubai Municipality was keen to keep waterways and lagoons in the emirate clean by strengthening its fleet of waterway cleaning vessels, as well as implementing a range of initiatives and campaigns to keep the sites clean.
Abdulmajeed Sifaie, director of waste management at Dubai Municipality, said its marine fleet has been prepared and
The crew has been trained for immediate response to emergencies and marine disasters
equipped for handling various marine disasters. The 24-hour crew has been trained for immediate response to emergencies and marine disasters and to maintain the sustainability of the marine environment. It also carries out daily cleaning operations all round the year.
The historic Dubai Creek is a 14-kilometre seawater inlet of the Arabian Gulf in the heart of Dubai. It was first referred to in writing in an 1822 British naval report, later becoming an important trading hub, especially due to pearling and fishing.