Al-Masry Al-Youm

Oil stains covered a distance of 150 meters in the Dai al-Qamr area of Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea governorate on Tuesday amid warnings of the spots extending to other areas and impacting beaches and maritime life on the Red Sea.

The Operations Room in the Ministry of Environment decided to form a committee of environmental researchers who will inspect the stains and dispatch samples to the laboratories of the Environmental Affairs Agency in Suez to determine the source and perpetrator of the spots before filing a lawsuit and determining the value of financial compensations expected for the affected marine environment.

Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdallah said that he met representatives of several oil companies to set a new mechanism for eliminating oil leakage and controlling leakages before they extend to the beaches of Hurghada.

Abdallah noted that the government pays a lot of money to combat oil pollution, which damages health, economy, and the tourist environment in the governorate.

He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the oil companies and the governorate in managing the crisis through a modern scientific method and contact with a company specialized in combating oil pollution.

The Environment Ministry announced July 5 that it spotted a crude oil spill covering 1,500 meters off the coastal area of Ras Ghareb in the north of the Red Sea governorate and declared a state of emergency while cooperating with the Petroleum Ministry to determine the spill’s source.

Crude oil spill pollution has covered the coastal area of Ras Ghareb five times, causing severe damage to the beaches and marine life of the Red Sea.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm