STS Oil Transfer Believed to Be Linked to Pollution Found on Fujairah Beach

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday February 5, 2018

Tanker Trackers' Co-founder, Samir Madani, says an oil slick observed on January 25 around the beaches of Aqqah, Fujairah is believed to be linked to a ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer, World Maritime news reports.

Further, it is suggested that spills during STS transfers occur regularly in the region, but are not known to the public and often ignored by the authorities.

For example, another oil spill off Iraq was reported by Tanker Trackers on January 11.

In a post on Twitter, Tanker Trackers suggested the January 11 spill was indeed linked to a STS transfer, stating: "the good folks at @MarineTraffic were delighted to reconstruct this STS for us. The tanker in the middle is a 334m long VLCC called NAJAF, came in from South Korea and is still in the area, awaiting more oil. Please note that the spill occurred a day prior to this video."

Madani told World Maritime News that UAE authorities appear to be frustrated by the frequency of the spills.

However, it is suggested that most STS transfers take place in anchorages that are rocky and pertain to international waters, making it difficult to hold those responsible for the spills to account.

Last week, Ship & Bunker reported that, according to data from tanker owners organistaion ITOFP, over the past five decades there have been progressively fewer oil spills in what is an identifiable downward trend.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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