Agencies assess impact of oil spills along coastline
A man assesses the damage caused by an oil spill near a beach along the Kenya coastline. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Two boats spilled fuel at Madhubaha shoreline near the new Nyali Bridge on Tuesday night.
Patrols would be intensified to help prevent occurrence of oil spills.
Environmental agencies are Wednesday sweating on the impact of an oil spill on marine life along the Kenya coastline.
Two boats spilled fuel at Madhubaha shoreline near the new Nyali Bridge on Tuesday night.
National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) compliance officer Benson Wemali said the spill occurred while fuel was being offloaded onto a truck.
The level of contamination could not be immediately established after agencies including the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) encountered low tide.
“We noticed the sand and water were polluted with the oil spill but we could not establish the extent of the contamination since the tides were low," he said.
Mr Wemali said Nema was working with the Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute and the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) to assess the impact of the spill on the ecosystem.
“The soil was contaminated extensively. The spill could have an adverse impact on the delicate marine life,” he said.
He added patrols would be intensified to help prevent occurrence of oil spills.
