Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have said they have managed to control an oil slick from a ship that sank just off its northern coast on Saturday, according to reports.
A spokesman for the American Navy was quoted by ABC news as saying the ship had been smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of United Nations sanctions.
The BBC reported that after several hours of silence about their efforts to control the spill, the authorities in the UAE are now proclaiming success.
The Health Minister said divers from the country's coastguard had managed to plug holes in the ship, which is now on the sea floor.
He said environmentally safe chemicals were being used to treat the slick, and that it had begun to disperse.
A spokesman for the US Navy said earlier that the Zainab sank while on its way to an impounding center, after it had been intercepted by the US navy and was found to be carrying smuggled Iraqi oil.
A former Iraqi UN envoy, Abdul Amir Al Anbari, slammed in an interview with Abu Dhabi TV the injustice of the UN-sponsored oil-for-food program, which he said was not enough to satisfy Iraq’s essential needs, and smuggling oil was to make up for the shortage.
The UN has said that Iraq, using a network of land and sea outlets, is smuggling enough oil into an energy-hungry world market to enable it to pocket up to $2 billion this year – Albawaba.com
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