Wire reporting: (Reuters, via Al-Monitor)

Authorities in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah reopened several beaches after closures tied to an oil spill in the Arabian Gulf last month, according to The National and a Reuters report carried by Al-Monitor^3,1.

Sharjah's media office said pollution had been brought under control and that beaches and the marine environment were safe for public visits, Al-Monitor's Reuters dispatch said¹. The National reported that Sharjah had closed its beaches for nearly three weeks, that environmental assessments preceded the reopening, and that Ras Al Khaimah had reopened seven beaches on Wednesday³.

The National said the UAE confirmed the spill on Oct. 22 and traced it to the supertanker Gem No 2, whose crew was rescued while oil entered the water over several weeks; satellite images showed a slick off Umm Al Quwain toward Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain beaches remained closed³. The government had said the spill from the ship was contained after a multi-agency operation, The National reported³.

Al-Monitor's Reuters copy described the tanker as damaged in a suspected attack in the Gulf last month and said beaches in Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain had been closed amid contamination concerns¹. The National did not describe an attack³.

The Reuters dispatch, as carried by Al-Monitor, cited Washington Institute figures on October attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, reported a separate Ambrey account of a merchant vessel hit by a projectile northwest of Ras Al Khaimah with no injuries or pollution at the time, and said desalination plants had not been shut¹.

The National reported that Al Luluyah Beach in Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman was closed Monday because of an oil spill, the first confirmed on the UAE's east coast, and that authorities did not specify the cause³. Sharjah authorities said round-the-clock monitoring would continue, The National reported³.