AMMAN, 7 February 2004 — Jordanian authorities in the Red Sea port of Aqaba said yesterday that they had brought “a minor oil spill incident” under control.
“The oil spill has been totally contained and the cleanup process by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and marine pollution control squads has been successful,” ASEZA Acting Chief Commissioner Imad Fakhoury said. “The incident resulted in a few tons of oil, not exceeding five, leaking from the tanker to the sea,” Fakhoury said, adding that the area affected was an industrial zone, far from Red Sea coral reefs and beaches popular with tourists and divers. The spillage was blamed on a faulty valve in a government-leased tanker which had been transporting oil for domestic consumption.
