Oil has spilled into a lagoon on the north-east side of Male’, contaminating water in the area.
It is believed that the oil came from the area near the foreign ministry building, and has now spread into the sea.
Complaints have been filed with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) requesting them to clean up the spill.
Deputy Director of the EPA Mohamed Ibrahim said their team visited the site to assess the damage following calls about the incident this morning.
“We think some people spilled the oil on purpose. We are very saddened that people can do such irresponsible things,” he said.
Ibrahim added that the relevant authorities have been requested to clean up the oil.