Dubai Municipality retrieved around 820 tons of marine debris from nine wooden cruise and commercial vessels located deep within Dubai Creek water. This marks the first phase of the Municipality’s annual strategy to clean and preserve sustainability of water canals across Dubai. In order to improve performance indicators for optimal waste management, reduce carbon emissions, and improve sustainability of Dubai’s marine environment, 95 per cent of waste was diverted to waste recycling businesses.

Saeed Abdul Rahim Safar, Director of Waste Operations Department at Dubai Municipality, affirmed the continuation of the Municipality’s water canal hygiene plan’s first phase across the emirate, which was launched last year in locations including Dubai Creek, Vessel Anchors No. 6/7/8, Jaddaf Dubai Area, Dubai Water Canal, Business Bay Canal, and Waterfront. Additionally, he revealed the plan to remove 11 other maritime means by the end of 2024.

The initiative aligns with the Municipality’s goals of providing integrated and effective municipal services, managing waste operations and undertaking marine hygiene work adhering to highest standards every day with the goal of safeguarding Dubai’s marine and natural environment and improve its sustainability and attractiveness.

Safar said: “Our strategy is divided into phases with the goal of eliminating all canal waste that obstructs the navigational movement of boats and vessels and disrupts trade and tourism traffic. Furthermore, it aims to prevent marine pollution caused by these residues with environmentally dangerous industrial products and substances from engines, which can endanger Dubai’s native life and fisheries. A number of major partners from the public and private sectors are also involved in the strategy to guarantee that it is carried out efficiently and within the time frame specified.”

In addition, he mentioned that as part of the first phase of cleaning operations, the team from Municipality have removed three ships and sea boats totaling roughly 310 tons since the year’s start. In order to overcome obstacles and enable the companies to complete their work while adhering to all the precautionary measures and public safety requirements required for the sites of these boats and ships, Dubai Municipality has further allotted a field team to monitor the procedures and ensure that the contractors adhere to the strategy.

The teams responsible for monitoring the recovery of discarded vessels and boats adhere to all internal procedures and field tasks following the Administrative Decree No. 1 of 2010. Pursuant to the verdict of the Cabinet Decision No. 71 of 2021, concerning maritime debris and offending vessels, the debris of these sinking ships are regarded as marine residue, and Dubai Municipality, the local environmental authority, is responsible for determining how to recover them.

In the past years, Dubai Municipality recovered 37 sunken shipping vehicles that range from drowning ships and sea boats in addition to mitigating the spread of polluting debris, such as spots and leakage of oils from sunken vessels, collisions, fire and other natural conditions such as algae and dead fish.