An environmental investigation warns of a disaster threatening the coasts of Aden
English - Saturday 30 July 2022 الساعة 04:25 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
An environmental investigation by the Humanitarian Press Foundation revealed the continuation of oil spills from the tanker (PEARL OF ATHENA), which is affiliated with an overseas company, in the port of the capital, Aden, owned by oil trader Ahmed Al-Eisi, and its effects extended to the coasts of the governorate.
While satellite images revealed a new oil leak, and the sinking of another ship alongside the ship (Dia 1), which has been sunken since last year, in addition to indications that a third ship has begun to sink.
The open sources of tracking the 12 dilapidated ships via satellite also revealed the expansion and increase of the oil spill from the same Athena ship, with a very frightening intensity, as the oil spill extended to an area of approximately 15 km, or approximately 7.5 nautical miles.
The investigation confirmed that the survival of the 12 dilapidated, sunken and substandard ships and their use as floating fuel tanks, despite their unsafety and the end of their lifespan, poses a serious threat to the environment, coasts, marine life and the city’s population as a whole, according to some environmental experts.
He documented a case of oil pollution that occurred in the port area of Aden during the five days of the same month, causing the oil to spread along the tidal region of Alfarsi coast with a length of about 1 kilometer, where the substance appeared most clearly at the highest sea level on the coast.
Along the coastline of the city of Buraiqa, west of the capital, Aden, the effects of the oil spill are visible to the public, starting from the shores of the Al-Heswa region to the Buraiqa code and beyond the bridge. This is documented by the coast-goers and fishermen in the Al-Heswa region and the Little Aden itself.
According to the journalist who specializes in tracking ships, Farouk Moqbel Al-Kamali, "the tanker Athena is a chemical (oil) tanker built in 1982. It stopped in the dumping area" in the port of Aden on August 23, 2015, according to the statistics of the Regional Maritime Center for Information Exchange, and it bears the imo number: 8000111, flying the flag of Malta.
The report warned of a major environmental and maritime disaster awaiting Aden, no less dangerous than the oil tanker Safer. The damage caused by the oil spill from the ship Athena is not limited to the environment only, but also includes the marine biodiversity in the region, which is rich in diverse marine organisms, including fish and invertebrates, including crustaceans and mollusks. The effects may reach the health aspect, the economic field, water services, fish deaths, harm to fishermen, and so on.
And about solutions to avoiding the problem of frequent oil pollution from dilapidated tankers and sunken ships in the port of Aden, the report said that the report is to empty them of their cargoes of oil and from sinking machines and towing them away from the submersible, with the need for coordination and integration with the relevant authorities and activating the role of the coast guard later and the importance of reporting accidents in a timely manner.
