A cargo ship loaded with smuggled Iraqi crude ran aground in the northern Gulf on Monday, October 29, and began leaking oil, forming a slick along Kuwait's coast, a regional maritime agency said.
The Panamanian-flagged Sea Lion, carrying 3,500 tons of Iraqi crude, ran aground near Kuwait's Bubiyan island, the Bahrain-based Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC) said in a statement.
Some oil has started to leak from the boat, forming a slick measuring three nautical miles (5.4 kilometers) in length and one mile (1.8 kilometers) in width, MEMAC said. Coastguards, environment services and port authorities in Kuwait rushed to the scene in an effort to contain the slick, the organization added.
The Gulf's fragile sea environment is frequently exposed to oil-tanker traffic and is subject to little environmental regulation. A US-led multinational naval force patrols Gulf waters to enforce a UN embargo slapped on Iraq for invading Kuwait in August 1990. ― (AFP, Manama)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
