Oil slick spotted in Sohar Port, Environment Agency issues statement

Muscat: The Environment Agency issued a statement about the oil slick located in the area north of Sohar Port, in which it said that the specialists at the Pollution Operations Control Center at the Environment Agency had received a report from the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (Memac) stating that an oil slick (oil materials) north of Sohar Port covered an area Its diameter is eight nautical miles, and it is expected to reach the port of Sohar and the neighboring beaches.

Accordingly, the port was alerted to take precautionary measures and take the necessary measures to combat pollution according to its emergency plan.

The authority’s specialists also monitored the conditions of tracking the oil slick in coordination with the Royal Oman Police (Coast Guard) to conduct a survey in the affected area to avoid its arrival to the shore, and due to the movement of winds and waves, their arrival has become impeded, and therefore the port took immediate measures to combat the expected pollution. The National Plan to Combat Pollution Operations was activated and coordinated with the Royal Air Force of Oman to fly the Casa plane to conduct a survey in the affected area, the amount of oil knowledge, in addition to coordinating with the operations of Sohar Port to carry out control measures to reduce its impact on the neighboring areas.

The authority confirms that the source of the pollution is still unknown, and that the investigation procedures are continuing. It is hoped that all the measures taken will contribute to reducing this pollution despite the technical challenges that may accompany the implementation.

The authority thanks the cooperation of the competent authorities and the understanding of everyone, in order to address the situation in the required manner.