Dubai Municipality waives off fee for shifting burned vessel debris at creek

In a recent move to stretch helping hand to the owners of the two cargo vessels that have been caught fire at Dubai creek weeks ago, Dubai Municipality has decided to waive off fees mandatory for transporting the debris from the site, said a senior official on Thursday.

“It is the civic body’s duty to help the business men who lost a lot when the unfortunate accident happened. We don’t intend to compel them pay for the cleaning, recovery of remnants and transporting it to disposal site,” said Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality.

“It is as per the directions from the Ruler of Dubai that we offer services to those who need it. We have made arrangements with companies with good track record in the removal and recovery of debris,” added Lootah.

Lootah stressed that Dubai Municipality has made great efforts to lift the rubble of the fire and get rid of them to ensure no pollution happens to the surroundings.

 As large quantity of oil found in the remnants of cargo ships, DM has taken every possible measures and fielded mechanism to safely dispose it off without causing environment pollution.

Detailing about the steps DM has taken for the recovery operations, Khaled Suleiten, Head of Environment Emergency Office with Dubai Municipality, said: “Primarily, we ourselves have started the recovery operation and have been successful in it, thanks to the expertise of technical staff we have with us. Further we have made agreements with other private companies to complement us on the drive. We have brought tanks with a capacity of 10,000 gallons for withdrawal of water accumulated inside the vessels. We are on alert not to mix the oil with creek water.”

Dubai Municipality, according to Khaled, has invited Dubai Engineering & Shipbuilding Company specialised in maritime transport to assist the civic body in these efforts. It is learnt that the company has deployed three crane ships to lift bulky waste to be transported later to Municipality landfill safely.

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