Saadiyat hotel beaches reopen after oil spill

Beaches at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort and the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi have reopened after last month’s oil spill along the coast of Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island.

The oil came ashore on February 14 along St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort beach and the Park Hyatt Hotel beach, with a team from the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) visiting the site to collect water samples sis and investigate the cause, reports The National.

Dr Humaid Al Kindi, manager of the emergency management environment quality section at EAD, has since announced that a discharge of ballast water was the “most probable identified source” of the minor oil spill.

“Ballast water can have a negative impact on the marine environment and typically contains a variety of biological materials that may include non-native or exotic species. These materials can cause extensive ecological damage to aquatic ecosystems,” said Dr Al Kindi.

The investigation also found that the beaches at St Regis and the Park Hyatt Hotel were contaminated with minor and light tar oil balls, and a dead seagull was found on the beach.

The beaches reopened on February 21, reportedly said a spokeswoman for Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.