Marine life threatened in Egypt
An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Hurghada
threatening to damage marine life in the area has prompted
environmental agencies to demand tighter regulation of offshore oil
platforms.
Large quantities of oil have appeared in recent days around the
resorts of Hurghada, which draw millions of tourists who come to
dive or snorkle, according to the Hurghada Environmental Protection
and Conservation Agency (HEPCA).
'It started four or five days ago and the companies responsible
didn't notify anyone. It is catastrophic,' HEPCA managing director
Amr Ali told AFP.
The spill was caused by leakage from an offshore oil platform
north of Hurghada and has polluted protected areas and showed up on
tourist beach resorts.
'The companies have said they will pay damages, but it is the
environmental damage that we are concerned about,' Ali said,
declining to name the companies for legal reasons.
'We will take all measures, including legal, to make sure this
does not happen again,' he said.
HEPCA's warning comes amid ongoing efforts to contain the
massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has damaged fragile
ecosystems along the US south coast and halted the region's
multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
HEPCA, a non-governmental organisation based in Hurghada, has
been working for the protection of natural resources in the Red
Sea.
Egypt's environment and tourism ministries said the oil spill
was contained and measures were being taken to 'deal with the
pollution caused by the spill', the official MENA news agency
reported.
Authorities protective of the lucrative tourism industry were
eager to resolve the matter quickly. Environment Minister Maged
George and Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy visited the area of the
spill on Saturday, but HEPCA said it was too little too late.
'Visits won't help. We would like to see a clearer plan of
action on the ground,' Ali said.
'We would also like to see more stringent standards imposed on
these offshore platforms to ensure natural areas are protected,' he
said.
-- bigpondnews.com
