Ammon News - AMMONNEWS – Concerned authorities on Friday managed to contain the oil spill that occurred earlier on Thursday in the southern beach in Aqaba, Jordan’s port on the Red Sea.

Coordination between various authorities and prompt response to the leak helped in containing the oil slick, Fadi Sharaiha, Director of the Royal Marine Conservation Society (JREDS) told Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Friday.

Sharaiha disclosed that the source of the oil leak is ‘Jerash Oil Vessel,’ which is a strategic oil storage facility for Jordan.

Sharaiha also noted that the Marine life in Aqaba’s southern beach was not affected by Thursday’s oil spill, attributed to the prompt response at which authorities managed to contain the oil slick.

An investigation was launched Thursday to determine the source and cause of the spill, in addition to its impact on marine life in the region.

The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), Prince Hamzah Club, JREDS, and others coordinated prompt efforts to contain the spill.

On his part, Minister of Environment Hazem Malhas on Friday said the lab test results of Aqaba oil spill are expected soon in an effort to determine details of the slick.

Concerned authorities will maintain close coordination with Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to it on the government's steps aimed to contain the leak, he told ‘Petra’.

***Photo the oil spill in Aqaba as it appeared Thursday and the tanker where the leakage occurred (Photos courtesy of JREDS)