Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) demanded the Jordanian Maritime Commission (JMC) to seize (MSC ALANA2) ship for dumping a yellow substance in Gulf of Aqaba waters pending investigations to asses ecological damage and calculate the required compensation before leaving the port.
In a statement on Sunday, ASEZA received a tipoff from its operations and control room at 2am stating that yellow-colored materials were dumped in the sea water by MSC ALANA2 ship, which was docking at the container terminal and ASEZA ecological team moved immediately to follow up on the incident.
Joint technical inspection team comprised of ASEZA, JMC, and the Naval Force reported that the ship, upon its departure from the container port berth, dumped waste water from the ship’s tank, as clearly seen in photos and videos from surveillance cameras, the statement added.
At the beginning of investigation, the ship’s captain denied that this substance was dumped from the vessel, which was contrary to evidence provided by the joint technical inspection team.
After confronting the captain with evidence, he admitted that the chief engineer made an error by opening the valve on the tank pump, which led to discharging waste water in the sea, the statement said.
As a quick measure, the ASEZA sent a letter to JMC to seize the ship in accordance with the rules in force.
In addition, a meeting was held today by ASEZA Environmental Damage Assessment Committee to identify quantity of the pollutant material to calculate the ecological financial compensation for the incident, according to instructions.
The case was referred to the public prosecutor and in the event that the ship left Aqaba port as a matter of urgency, it will be allowed to leave after depositing a financial guarantee decided by the ASEZA to cover all financial claims resulting from the incident as a compensation for environmental damages.
Source: Jordan News Agency