AMMAN — Cleanups were completed
on an oil spill that damaged several berths at the container and passenger
terminals, and spread to some beaches in the southernmost tip of Aqaba, said
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Commissioner for Tourism and
Environment Nidal Al-Majali.
اضافة اعلان
Majali told Jordan News that the cleanups were carried out by an
international firm hired to dispense of the oil slick in the area, which
included some beaches within the boundaries of the Aqaba Marine Reserve.
He said that ASEZA referred the case of the
oil spill to Aqaba’s public prosecutor, and advised people and firms affected
by the spill to “resort to the judiciary to register their case to be
compensated for the damage incurred, if it was proven.”
“Some divers were affected by the oil spill,
but the diving process in general was not,” he said.
He said that 5.11 tonnes of heavy fuel used
in engines leaked as a result of a hole in the fuel tank on August 14.
In the past two weeks, cleaning teams were
battling with the oil spill from the vessel “Floor of Sea” at the Container
Terminal, which spread to the shore, swept by changing winds.
At the time, Majali said that fighting the
oil slick required specialized personnel and equipment.
After the oil leak, the majority of boat
trips and dive bookings were canceled, and hundreds of items of scuba diving
equipment of all kinds were destroyed by those practicing diving during that
period and after, according to the head of
Aqaba Diving Association, Khamash
Yassin.
The association circulated to its centers not
to use the diving equipment for fear of sudden disruption during diving, and
for the safety of the visitor and tourist and prevention of any injuries.
Marine Science Station Director Ali
Al-Sawalmeh asserted that readings taken from 11 seawater spots in the first
two days of the spill showed that coral in the Gulf of Aqaba was safe and that
the slick had not affected the marine environment.
Majali explained in the interview with Jordan News that the competent authorities dealt with
the accident right after it was reported, through a rapid response plan from
The Environmental Damage Assessment Team in the Aqaba Region Authority.
He said the response was in partnership with
the Maritime Authority and the Marine Reserve crew. They sought to prevent the
expansion of the leakage area that spread, as a result of wind and waves, and
reached the shoreline.
He said the oil slick, which had spread
across an area of 50 dunums, under the berth of the container port, at a height
of 60 cm, was completely removed on August 28.
He attributed the two-week period to clear
the spill partly on the keenness to “refrain from using chemicals that would
harm marine life, and the delay of the ship’s crew in reporting the incident.”
Environmental expert
Duraid Mahasneh said
there was ambiguity in dealing with the crisis and finding solutions to it.
Foreign experts were hired to deal with the fuel leak, and it “took a long time
to do the job, which is costly,” he said.
He said pollution spread to several areas in
the port, including the container port. “Every ship which enters the area is
affected by this substance on its walls”, he noted.
“We are concerned that the components of this
substance will remain in the water, especially since the waves of the Aqaba Sea
are not strong, as the Aqaba Gulf is a closed area,” he said.
“This indicates that the substance will
remain in the Gulf of Aqaba,” he said. “But at the same time, there is a positive
element here, which is if the waves were strong, the oil would have spilled
over the international waters into neighboring areas and may have resulted in
political crises.”
He pointed out that marine life requires
continuous monitoring to ascertain the effect of the substance and to what
extent including consideration for fish and coral reefs.
Yassin, head of Aqaba Diving Association,
praised the authorities for combating pollution, stressing that the diving
sites are now safe and available for reservation, and that many trips which had
been canceled are back.
He said he communicated with ASEZA on the
damages inflicted on some diving equipment, smeared by the oily substance.
“We’re concerned that the equipment may not work under water anymore,” he said.
Ali Al-Sawalmeh, Director of the Marine
Sciences Station, said that samples taken from some areas showed that there “is
no trace at the present time of the leaked oil in the water column, and that it
is limited to the surface.” He pointed to the possibility of the emergence of
minor traces later.
He asserted that laboratory analyses on coral reefs,
which were conducted by specialists at the Marine Science Station, showed that
marine life was able to adapt in the first days of the accident, which means it
could adapt later, too.
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