ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates said on Friday, October 30, that an oil leak from the tanker GEM No. 2 had been stopped, with no new leakage detected, as cleanup operations continued along coastlines affected by the spill, Reuters reported from Cairo, citing state news agency WAM. The oil slick is concentrated off the northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain and extends partly towards coastal areas in the neighbouring northern emirates of Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Sharjah, WAM reported, citing the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, which added that the density of marine pollution has declined markedly.

Source: Reuters (WAM)

The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said joint coordination is continuing with the environment ministry, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) and relevant federal and local authorities to secure the tanker and safeguard maritime navigation, according to the full WAM statement carried by Gulf outlets. Specialised technical teams are repairing damaged sections of the vessel, restoring some operational systems and assessing the integrity of its structure to determine the safest way to handle it. Maritime and aerial monitoring, supported by satellite imagery, is continuing to track the slick and spot any new development.

Beaches closed as a precaution, cleanup by recovery and dispersants

The environment ministry said containment and cleanup rely primarily on mechanical recovery methods, alongside chemical dispersants used in accordance with international standards and approved technical guidelines. Its teams are carrying out surveying, monitoring and field-cleaning operations in the coastal areas the pollution reached, with public safety the stated top priority. A number of beaches and coastal areas have been temporarily closed as a precaution — a step the ministry stressed does not necessarily mean pollution has been detected at every closed location. In the same WAM coverage, the utility Etihad Water and Electricity affirmed that the safety and quality of drinking water remain a top priority for the northern emirates the slick is drifting past.

For the large Indian and Punjabi workforce living across the UAE's northern emirates — in Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain itself — the practical questions are the closed beaches, the safety of tap water, which the utility says it is guarding, and how long the cleanup keeps parts of the coast off-limits. The incident also lands in a year when Gulf shipping has repeatedly been hit by projectiles, mines and drones around the Strait of Hormuz: a tanker damaged in UAE waters in early October, its cargo leaking for three weeks before the source was sealed, is a reminder that the war's environmental bill is being paid along the same coastlines where South Asian workers live. What happens next is the structural verdict on GEM No. 2 — whether the repaired tanker can be moved and handled safely — and the ministries' final assessment of the spill's damage.

Sources: Reuters, October 30, 2026 (reporting WAM) — leak stopped, no new leakage, slick off Umm Al Quwain extending to Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Sharjah, pollution declining, precautionary beach closures, and shipping sources on the October 9 projectile strike and fire; WAM statement in full via Business News MEA / UAE Barq, October 30, 2026 — inter-agency coordination with NCEMA, repair and structural assessment of the tanker, mechanical recovery and dispersant methods, satellite monitoring, and the drinking-water assurance; Marine Link, October 30, 2026 — independent maritime-trade confirmation of the stopped leak and continuing cleanup.