Ras Al Khaimah shuts all beaches over offshore oil spill; Umm Al Quwain and Sharjah's Al Hamriyah also closed

Ras Al Khaimah has closed all of its beaches until further notice after an oil spill off the UAE coast, the emirate's Public Services Department announced on Saturday in a statement shared by Ras Al Khaimah Police, Dawn reported from AFP. No reopening date was given.

It follows closures on Friday in Umm Al Quwain, where all beaches and coastal areas around the city were shut while technical teams assess the damage, and in Sharjah, where Al Hamriyah Beach was closed as a precaution.

What happened

The UAE said on Friday that oil was leaking from a tanker offshore and that work to contain it was under way. Authorities have not named the tanker or said what caused the leak. Residents of Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain reported strong, unusual smells; the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said they pose no health risk.

The spill comes as attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have hit record levels, raising fears of exactly this kind of environmental damage, although the authorities have not linked this leak to an attack. Tanker rates have soared as a result: see our story on tanker rates hitting $254,000 a day.

If you live in the northern emirates

More than a million Pakistanis live and work in the UAE, many of them in Sharjah, Ajman and the northern emirates.

• Stay off closed beaches in Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Al Hamriyah until the authorities reopen them.
• Fishermen and boat users: the environment ministry has told sea users to avoid the affected areas and follow official instructions.
• Seafood: buy from licensed markets, which are inspected, rather than from catches of unknown origin while the spill is being cleaned up.
• Smell: the ministry says it is not harmful, but anyone with asthma may prefer to keep windows closed near the coast.

Sending money home this weekend? Today's dirham rate is on our AED to PKR page.