On 1st January Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) was reported an oil spill in Malé City’s primary jetty area.
Nearly 1000 liters of diesel is estimated to have been spilled in the area. Approximately 700 liters of diesel has been filtered from the jetty as of now. MNDF coast guard and pollution response team is currently working to filter the oil.
The cause of the spill is yet to be identified. The relevant authorities are currently investigating the incident and attempting to identify the responsible party.
“We have cause to believe the spill might have originated from a vessel that was traveling near Malé City, and the oil had traveled with the current,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director General Ibrahim Naeem.
Maldives has not experienced any major oil spill however marine protection, safety and marine pollution response has been strengthening in recent years. A specialized vessel for marine pollution response was handed MNDF last month by State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. And in 2020, oil spill response equipment (oil booms, oil absorbent tools and other equipment) were donated to MNDF by Japan.
