Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah Reopen Beaches as Greenpeace Maps 540 Oil Slicks in the Gulf

The reopenings give the northern emirates' hotels back their main draw in the run-up to the winter season. But new satellite data published this week suggest the spill that shut them is one of hundreds in the region since the war with Iran began in late February, a risk to tourism, fisheries and the coastal desalination plants that supply Gulf drinking water.

Ras Al Khaimah's Public Services Department said on Wednesday that Flamingo Beach, Dahan Beach, Al Maireedh Beach and Al Rams Corniche were open to the public, along with the beaches at Anantara Mina Al Arab Resort, InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Mina Al Arab Resort and Spa, and The Cove Rotana Resort. The department said the remaining beaches would reopen gradually and urged visitors to follow official safety instructions.

Sharjah's media office said in a statement that "the emirate's beaches and marine environment are safe, allowing the public to visit and enjoy various marine activities safely."

All beaches in Ras Al Khaimah were closed on October 24, in coordination with the emirate's police, and beaches in Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain were also restricted. The oil came from the supertanker Gem No.2, which was hit in a suspected Iranian drone attack in early October about 13 nautical miles west of the UAE coast. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment confirmed the spill on October 22 after residents reported a strong fuel-like smell, and authorities said on October 30 that the leak had stopped and marine pollution had fallen significantly. The ministry said closures did not necessarily mean pollution had reached every beach affected.

The east coast has not escaped. On Monday, Khor Fakkan closed Al Luluyah Beach on the Gulf of Oman after oil was detected offshore, the first confirmed spill on that side of the country. The city did not give a cause. Two days earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre had reported an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan.

The Wider Spill Map

Greenpeace, working with the ship-tracking firm Kpler, has identified at least 540 oil slicks in the region since February 28, covering roughly 20,000 sq km of sea, about a quarter of the UAE's land area, Arab News reported. The group's map shows an almost continuous slick along the UAE's Gulf coast from Dubai, through the Strait of Hormuz and down the Omani shore towards Muscat. As of November 3, most of the oil was still offshore.

"This is quite frankly an environmental disaster in the making," Nina Noelle, an environmental disaster relief expert at Greenpeace, told Arab News. More than 130 vessels have been attacked in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman since the war began, and October brought the most attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz of any month in the conflict, according to data compiled by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The tourism cost is already large. A month into the war, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimated the region was losing $600 million a day in tourism revenue, and Oxford Economics forecast in March that a two-month war would cost Gulf states about 33 million visitors and $56 billion this year. GCC states approved a joint tourism recovery plan in Manama in September built around multi-country itineraries, and Bahrain's tourism minister said this month that a global campaign was close to launch.

Most beaches in Umm Al Quwain remain closed, and Ras Al Khaimah has said further reopenings will be announced through its official channels.