The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and Sharjah Police General Directorate held a meeting to explore the means of enhancing cooperation in regard to countering marine pollution and handling abandoned ships.

The meeting drew the participation of His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Major-General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, as well as other high-level officials from the two parties.

MOCCAE officials highlighted the Ministry’s efforts to maintain a clean marine environment, including the Marine Polluters National Plan. The attendees also addressed emergency response roles and responsibilities, emergency levels, and the criteria to raise the emergency level from local to federal.

Moreover, they discussed ways of handling abandoned ships, reviewing the relevant federal laws as well as regional and global agreements regulating maritime navigation and vessel traffic, including technical and legal frameworks, navigation rules, and regulations to preserve marine and coastal environments.

As part of its commitment to protecting the marine environment in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, the UAE has ratified multiple agreements. These include the Kuwait Regional Convention for Co-operation on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Pollution and its subsequent protocols, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, and the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter.