Salvagers will renew bid to retrieve tanker

The Ministry of Environment and Water will resume efforts this month to refloat the fuel-oil tanker White Whale which foundered in heavy seas off UAE shores in late October. A ministry spokesman said salvagers will visit the site 35 km off the Sharjah coast in the coming days to begin the operation of raising the ship and its 1,000 tonnes of diesel from the seafloor. The four- or five-day operation could be in full swing by April 16. While the ship's sinking during inclement weather did not result in a major oil spill, there have been reports by anglers of a small amount of rainbow-coloured film on the water. Senior Environment Ministry officials say that the renewed interest in remedying the situation lies in a return to calmer seas in the wake of several months of bad weather. Repeated conditions of up to 66.7 km/h winds and 3.65-metre waves hampered efforts in mid-February to lift White Whale to the surface. Bad weather forced the 400-tonne crane barge Al Emlaq to abandon salvage efforts. Minister of Environment and Water Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd told Gulf News in a recent interview that an inspection team surveyed the scene and Dubai Ship Building and Engineering was contracted to raise the ship as soon as possible.