Plan to refloat sunken vessel off Umm Al Quwain

The Ministry of Environment and Water is looking to refloat White Whale, a vessel which sank off the coast of Umm Al Quwain last Friday. The vessel is carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of diesel, raising the threat of an environmental disaster in case of an oil leak. It was earlier reported that it had 450 tonnes of diesel on board. The vessel sank about 35km off the coast of Umm Al Quwain and about 25 km east of Sharjah's Port Khalid, according to an official of the UAE Coast Guard. The official said the operation to salvage the vessel would take some time. "Currently, we are trying our best to recover the vessel to avoid more diesel leak which may contaminate fish and cause an environmental catastrophe," said the official who is involved in the operation. Salvage operation He said it took nine hours to plug the holes to stop diesel leakage, but officials fear that oil will again spill out because of the weather condition. "It was a hell of job for divers to stop [the] leakage of diesel at the oil tanker 35-metre deep in the water, but they did it successfully," the officer said. He said the salvage operation would be carried out in three phases. "The first phase, including scanning and assessing the status of the vessel and its contents and closing 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 in the third phase. A helicopter is being used to monitor the condition of the affected area round the clock. Diesel first spread in an area over two square kilometres, but is now contained to one square kilometre. The official said the situation is so far 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.