Saudi marine company SAIL plans to clean up thousands of barrels of oil spills

Mohammed AlAshwan, Project manager at SAIL.

• Mohammed Al-Ashwan, project manager at SAIL, told Arab News: “The objectives and mandate of SAIL is to protect the Saudi Arabian shoreline”
• The company is also attempting to protect the environment, infrastructure and projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea, and Amaala, among others

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: A Saudi marine company says it has plans to clean up 530,000 barrels of oil spills and hazardous materials to help protect the Kingdom’s shorelines.
SAIL was established by a royal decree as a subsidiary of the Saudi Investment Recycling Company, which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, to provide marine operations for environmental services.
Mohammed Al-Ashwan, project manager at SAIL, told Arab News: “The objectives and mandate of SAIL is to protect the Saudi Arabian shoreline, either on the Arabian Gulf side, or the Red Sea.”
He added that the company is also attempting to protect the environment, infrastructure and projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea, and Amaala, among others.

We are pleased to participate in the #SaudiGreenInitiative gallery in Sharm El-Sheikh today, SAIL -under @MEWA_KSA umbrella- will support Saudi’s green transition by protecting and preserving its marine environment from oil spills that threaten its growth and safety. pic.twitter.com/wJOZi3i7Lo

— SAIL سيل (@SAIL_Saudi) November 7, 2022

Al-Ashwan was speaking during the second Saudi Green Initiative Forum, on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
SAIL gave an interactive display at the event which simulated vessels leaking oil. The spills are recorded and captured by a satellite, and the image is then taken, processed, analyzed and sent to head office, as well as the nearest destination station.
Al-Ashwan added: “The teams there will be sending drones or airplanes to survey and analyze the oil spills, and accordingly decide the best response and reaction.”
Booms are then deployed for containment, and then skimmers to recover the oil and store it in a tank for the recycling process.
Al-Ashwan said oil spills have a major effect on the environment, and it was necessary to protect it as their impact is severe on marine life, mangroves, coral reefs and animals.
He added: “A big part of SAIL is to protect the environment. Other than this, we are doing other marine services, protecting the infrastructure, power plants, desalination plants, and the mega projects.
“The capacity that SAIL is looking for is 530,000 barrels of oil spills or spills of hazardous materials. We are looking at protecting the shoreline in Saudi and hopefully we will expand regionally and globally.”