Umm Al Quwain Shuts Beaches as Oil Reaches Shoreline
The spill, from a tanker struck near the Strait of Hormuz on 9 October, had stretched past 35km by 21 October.
By Kenji Yamamoto ·
Beaches and coastal areas near the northern UAE city of Umm Al Quwain are closed after oil from a damaged tanker washed ashore, turning the water black. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said it had begun containment work to limit environmental effects.
Satellite images from 19 October showed a small leak near a vessel matching the crude oil tanker Gem No.2. Radar imagery reviewed by BBC Verify and intelligence firm MAIAR showed the leak growing over the next two days. By Wednesday, images put the slick more than 35km (22 miles) from the ship. The slick extends toward Siniyah and Khor Al Beidah islands, a globally recognised Key Biodiversity Area with corals, seagrasses and saltmarshes, and home to green turtles and the critically endangered Halavi guitarfish.
The tanker was struck by an unknown projectile on 9 October just north of Al Jazeera Al Hamra, maritime intelligence firm Vanguard reported, starting a fire that was later extinguished. The Indian consulate in Dubai said on 11 October that all 22 Indian crew members had been rescued. Iranian state media said the vessel had been trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz by an unauthorized and dangerous route.
Prof Steve Widdicombe, director of the Sharjah Marine Science Research Centre, told BBC Verify it was inevitable that there will be an impact. Eoghan Darbyshire, a scientist at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, called the spill's closeness to the biodiversity area the most concerning environmental angle. Researchers said the scale of damage depends on the volume and type of oil, how quickly it breaks down, and how effective clean-up efforts prove.
Oil spills can trap turtles, coat seabird feathers and damage fish gills. Prof Widdicombe said longer-term harm can follow if species remain exposed to toxic compounds, which may affect their ability to reproduce. The slick is one of several attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz in early October. Another large oil slick reached Iran's Qeshm Island shores in August.
Source: BBC News
