FUJAIRAH // Hoteliers on the coast of Fujairah fear for the future of their businesses after a third oil spill in recent weeks.
They say tankers deliberately dumping their oily ballast water into the sea is affecting tourism and they are losing out on thousands of dirhams – not to mention the environmental effects.
Hotel bookings and diving tours were cancelled over the weekend in most of the hotels in Al Aqah because of the spill, which follows one last month in Kalba, on Sharjah’s east coast, and another in Al Aqah in March.
“Our estimated loss during the weekend could reach Dh80,000 as many guests cancelled their booking after hearing the news about the oil spill,” said Joseph Abou Dib, manager of Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort in Al Aqah.
“People were covered in black oil and we immediately closed the beach when it first appeared about 2pm on Thursday.”
The 2 kilometre-long spill forced beaches to be closed in all the hotels and dead fish lay on the shores.
“Hotel occupancy went down to 60 per cent and we are badly affected. It’s the second time this year and we don’t want this to affect tourism in the area,” Mr Abou Dib said.
Hotel staff and municipality workers started to clean the shores on Thursday afternoon and continued until Friday morning.
“Half of the beach was cleared on Friday by about 10am and guests were swimming cautiously,” Mr Abou Dib said.
The general manager of the Miramar hotel said the oil brought with it a foul odour.
“A very bad smell reached all the way to the lobby,” Ashraf Helmy said. “The beach was closed on Thursday and swimming was allowed with caution on Friday and Saturday.
“We had about 780 guests and they were all in the pool area and most of them were unhappy with the situation. We tried to offer discounts and complimentary meals but many had cancelled their stay.
“There should be more observation and penalties on the vessels that commit such acts. We have unique diving spots and it’s considered one of the best getaways for many.”
Experts had said that it could prove almost impossible to trace the source of the spills because of the volume of sea traffic and complex tides.
Many water activities were halted, leaving divers disappointed.
“Getting the customers in and out of the boat from the beach was difficult as the oil was covering the area,” said Michela Colella, operations manager of Divers Down Centre in Al Aqah.
“The water was clear under the surface but when you go out of water you will be covered in oil and that damaged our diving suit.
“Five people cancelled their appointments and we did our best to keep the rest but it wasn’t easy. We hope that the marine life won’t be affected by this.”
Dr Saif Al Ghais, a marine scientist and executive director of Ras Al Khaimah Environment Protection and Development Authority, said during an earlier spill that dumping such substances was illegal.
“It should be monitored and investigated,” Dr Al Ghais said. “The effect may vary depending on the oil classification. Light crude oil causes less damage than heavy crude oil, which creates tar, but both can affect surface marine species and birds.
“If the oil reaches the beach, it may also cause harm to the microscopic creatures and other species that live on the sand near the water, such as small worms and seashells.”
rhaza@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMaly%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mo%20Ibrahim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.6%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2015%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%2C%20planning%20first%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GCC-based%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20beat%20UAE%20by%20six%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EZimbabwe%20beat%20UAE%20by%20eight%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20beat%20Netherlands%20by%2010%20wickets%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20v%20Vanuatu%2C%20Thursday%2C%203pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20v%20Netherlands%2C%207.30pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGroup%20B%20table%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1)%20Ireland%203%203%200%206%20%2B2.407%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Netherlands%203%202%201%204%20%2B1.117%0D%3Cbr%3E3)%20UAE%203%201%202%202%200.000%0D%3Cbr%3E4)%20Zimbabwe%204%201%203%202%20-0.844%0D%3Cbr%3E5)%20Vanuatu%203%201%202%202%20-2.180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
And%20Just%20Like%20That...
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker%2C%20Cynthia%20Nixon%2C%20Kristin%20Davis%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
POSSIBLE ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Ben Chilwell, Fabian Delph.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Forwards: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi.
WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
