Owner unable to pay for salvaging ship

The owner of White Whale, the vessel that sank off Umm Al Quwain's coast in October carrying a large amount of diesel, is unable to pay for the damage caused by the ship and the salvage operation, Gulf News has learnt. An official at the Ministry of Environment and Water said this has caused a delay in recovering the sunken vessel, which was carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of diesel. It went under about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Umm Al Quwain and about 25 nautical miles east of Sharjah's Port Khalid. The vessel rests on the seabed at a depth of 35 metres. The ministry has a contract with a specialised company to salvage sunken vessels but the cost must be borne by the vessel owner. In White Whale's case the owner has said he is unable to bear the cost, the official added. The ministry had referred the case to the public prosecution of Umm Al Quwain to complete the legal procedures against the ship's owner, said the official Article continues below The owner's lawyer said that his client "was not able to bear the costs of recovering the sunken vessel from the sea". The ministry is monitoring the sunken ship in cooperation with the Coast Guard to make sure it does not affect the marine environment, leak diesel from its tanks or cause any other sort of harm, said the official.