More leakage from sunken vessel reported

The Ministry of Environment and Water is on high alert to deal with any environmental fallout as diesel cargo from a sunken ship has started leaking again and is spreading towards the shores of Umm Al Quwain, said a ministry official. "The ministry is now working to control the spread of diesel which is approaching the Umm Al Quwain coast," said Dr Mariam Al Shanasi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Environment and Water, warning fishermen to stay away from the area. There was a small leakage despite plugging the holes in the tanks earlier, she said. "This situation will delay the operation to salvage the vessel," Mariam said. "Currently, we are trying our best to recover the vessel to avoid more diesel leak which may contaminate fish and cause an environmental disaster," she added. A Coast Guard's air surveillance helicopter reported on Saturday night that there was more diesel leakage from the vessel, she said. The vessel, White Whale, which sank 35km off the coast of Umm Al Quwain on Friday, was carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of diesel. "The divers confirmed the Coast Guard's report that the diesel is leaking again from holes which were plugged three days ago," said Mariam. It took nine hours to plug the holes to stop diesel leakage. "It was a hell of a job for divers to stop [the] leakage of diesel from the oil tanker 35-metre deep in the water, but they did their best," a Coast Guard officer said. Earlier he said that the salvage operation is being carried out in three phases. "The first phase, including scanning and assessing the status of the vessel and its contents and plugging leakage, has already been completed, while the second phase will involve carrying the remaining contents of the diesel tanks to safe floating stations," he said. The vessel will be lifted to the surface in the third phase. The official said the situation so far was under control, and the Ministry of Environment and Water is awaiting a report of consultants who are studying how to refloat the vessel and safely transfer the diesel stored in its tanks. "It will be catastrophic if any of the diesel tanks burst as it would likely pollute the shoreline and cause contamination and endanger marine life," the official said. The owner of the vessel, the official said, would have to pay for the damages caused by the incident, according to the UAE laws.