FAILED SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFER GETS BLAME FOR MAJOR FUJAIRAH OIL SLICK
Botched operation at anchorage in international waters could have unleashed sea of crude, experts say
A spill during a ship-to-ship transfer of oil is the suspected cause of a damaging slick that reached the Fujairah coast on January 26.
That is according to Tanker Trackers – a free-of-charge website service that monitors the flow of oil at sea and investigates spills.
Ship-to-ship transfers usually involve a smaller vessel supplying a larger tanker with oil.
They are common in the global oil trade and usually safe, but spills from overflows can occur either because of negligence or by accident.
Tanker Trackers believes an area in international waters off the coast of Dibba may be the site of last weekend’s oil spill. It is known as an anchorage area, which can extend into international waters. Because the water was too dark in the images and light cloud obscured the view, it may be impossible to definitively identify the ships.
“Most of this anchorage … occupies international waters [for transit] where UAE lacks jurisdiction,” said Samir Madani, co-founder of Tanker Trackers.
“As in many cases, the cause of the spill could be related to accidents during a ship-to-ship transfer of oil in the open sea. Given that these transfers happen in waters which at times might be rocky, the smaller vessel might end up causing the spill because it has a lower height than the larger vessel.
“Our investigation continues as we source in more data.”
Two weeks ago, a spill from one of these transfers took place off the coast of Iraq.
Other causes of spills include tankers illegally cleaning out their hull tanks, discharging oily water or releasing ballast water, but experts believe ship-to-ship transfers are more likely to be responsible for oil spills. Water currents circulating to the west of the anchorage can compound the problem.
The issue is in sharp focus again after last week’s spill at Al Aqah, which damaged marine life and threatened tourist resorts. Last year, the east coast of the UAE was hit by a series of slicks. Authorities moved swiftly to clean up the area, while the Armed Forces and Coastguard also responded.
Salah Al Rayssi is director of the fisheries sustainability department at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
“Dumping waste in the sea raises environmental concerns that are life-threatening to the marine ecosystem. The UAE has laws banning throwing waste and oil sludge into the water by the hundreds of tankers operating in the region,” he told The National.
The UAE’s territorial waters extend for 12 nautical miles, and the country has firm penalties in place to deal with offenders. According to Federal Law No 24 of 1999, all means of marine transport are prohibited from discharging or disposing of oil or an oil mixture into the environment. Penalties include imprisonment and fines of up to Dh1 million.
“The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment works closely with local authorities to respond in real time to oil spill incidents, by overseeing the clean-up of contaminated beaches along the east coast of the UAE, and finding the perpetrators and holding them accountable for their actions.”
Mr Al Rayssi said the ministry is working to improve an oil spill monitoring and detection system that aims to unify the efforts of all federal and local authorities in the country.
The UAE has been tackling the issue for years. In 2005, Fujairah Port reminded tankers that ship-to-ship transfers in the port area were prohibited, ordering it be carried out at sea in this anchorage area because of oil that was reaching the shore from unknown sources.
The UAE, meanwhile, has outperformed all other Gulf and Arab countries and was ranked 28th in the world in the recent Ocean Health Index, a marine assessment survey. The country scored 77 points out of 100, although the global average of the Ocean Health Index requires only 70 points.
Tanker Trackers believes an area in international waters off the coast of Dibba may be the origin of the oil spill