Black sludge has washed up across three kilometres of pristine Kalba coastline after a suspected oil spill at sea.
The slick caused the suspension of fishing activities and the partial closure of Kalba beach.
Tuesday’s spill is the fourth along the east coast of the UAE this year and the second in the Sharjah enclave of Kalba.
The slick even threatened the protected Al Qurm Nature Reserve – a haven for sea turtles and rare birds – but barriers prevented any damage.
"Our inspectors and investigation team were immediately dispatched to the location," Shamsa Al Ketbi, director of the support services at the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority, told The National. "The team had to close parts of Kalba Corniche until the clean up process is finalised."
The cause of the spill has not been established and the clean-up is expected to take up to three days. Fishing remains suspended.
It is believed most oil spills are caused by rogue tankers cleaning their hulls in international waters. The sludge then washes ashore.
The authority is working on establishing a monitoring system to spot spills before they reach the coastline.
Fishermen said they noticed the oil sludge at Kalba fishing port early on Tuesday.
“The smell was terrible and the water colour was brown to black,” said Saeed Sultan, 35.
“I called my father and told him not to go fishing as oil sludges can stick to the fishing net and ruin it completely.”
Mr Sultan said he visited Kalba beach on Wednesday and found a dead turtle washed up on the shore.
Last month, an oil spill forced the authorities to close Kalba beach and in June oil washed ashore in Khor Fakkan in Sharjah, while a slick was reported at Al Aqah in Fujairah in March.
“The authorities should put an end to this issue and find a way to track the oil spill before it reaches the shores and affects our lives and marine life,” Mr Sultan said.
“The oil can ruin our boats, engines and fishing gear and we are still trying to recover from the summer losses due to the pandemic.
“We already lost a lot to keep our business going and we do not want to reach a point where we cannot afford to refuel our boats,” he said.
Mr Sultan also cautioned that fish could be contaminated by oil. “It is unsafe,” he said.
The Kalba Fishermen’s Association said about 60 of its members were affected by the oil spill.
“About 200 fishing boats were docked at Khor Kalba port when the oil spill reached the shores,” said Mohammed bin Shaml, the association’s deputy manager.
“And the fishing gear of about 60 fishermen was affected and some was damaged.
“This issue keeps happening regularly and the authorities should ... fine those causing it.”
UAE officials and port chiefs have called for increased surveillance of tankers so anyone in breach of rules can face sanction.
Under the Emirates’ Federal Law No 24, all means of marine transport are prohibited from discharging oil or disposing of it in the sea. Penalties include jail and fines of up to Dh1 million, but most of these incidents happen in international waters, where it becomes more difficult to police.
In 2007, the UAE signed up to the International Maritime Organisation’s Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. Also known as the Marpol Convention, it aims to stop pollution both from accidents and routine ship operations.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
