UAE Oil Spill Raises Concerns Over Desalination and Coastal Environment
October 29 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – An oil spill off the United Arab Emirates has prompted fishing restrictions and beach closures, raising concerns about marine habitats and seawater supplies used by desalination plants.
Shipping sources identified the leaking vessel as the crude oil tanker Gem No.2. They said it was struck by an unidentified projectile last month, about 12 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in Ras Al Khaimah.
Sharjah authorities closed all beaches as a precaution on Wednesday, extending restrictions affecting parts of the UAE coastline.
The spill has drawn attention to the vulnerability of desalination facilities, which supply more than 80% of the UAE’s drinking water.
Maritime intelligence company Windward said on Sunday that the leak threatened the seawater intake of the Naqa’a desalination plant near the border between Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah. Footage verified by Reuters showed oil had reached a location in Ras Al Khaimah about two kilometres from the plant.
Nidal Hilal, director of New York University Abu Dhabi’s Water Research Center, said a plant’s seawater intake was its principal point of vulnerability. Oil entering the intake could compromise treatment processes, with the consequences depending on the facility’s design and the type and quantity of oil.
He distinguished between risks to water quality, a temporary operational shutdown and physical damage to equipment. Measures to keep oil away from intakes and protect treatment systems were priorities for maintaining reliable drinking-water supplies, he said.
Simon Boxall, a senior lecturer at the University of Southampton, said the environmental impact depended on the oil’s type, volume and thickness. Satellite images can identify surface slicks but cannot establish how thick they are.
Crude oil can break down within weeks in warm Gulf waters, he said, although thicker deposits can cause greater damage to beaches, the seabed and coastal habitats and take longer to disperse.
Oil exposure can also harm wildlife. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it can impair birds’ ability to repel water and fly, affect turtles and dolphins, and damage fish organs and eggs.
Hilal said recovery times at affected desalination facilities would depend on whether contaminated water entered the plant and caused persistent fouling or equipment damage.
Source: Reuters.
