CAIRO: The Ministry of Petroleum as well as the Ministry of Environmental Affairs denied news reports of an oil leak in the Suez Gulf, saying they did not receive word of a supply ship sinking there.
Several newspapers reported Wednesday that a ship carrying oil sank at the end of July in the Suez Gulf, two miles away from the city of Abu Rdees in South Sinai, raising environmental concerns.
According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the ship, Misr Golf 10, was rented by petroleum company Balaim and was carrying 50 tons of oil.
Al-Badil newspaper quoted a ministry official confirming that it was a small ship that supplies fuel for other ships, but that it did not sink completely.
Gharib Hassan, head of the environmental committee at the Local Council of South Sinai, was quoted in newspapers as saying that the accident polluted the water of the Gulf threatening marine life in Abu Znema and Abu Rdees in a memorandum he sent to the governorate, the environmental affairs authority and the Local Council.
Hassan was unavailable for comment at press time.
The status of the ship was still unclear as officials at the Ministry of Environmental Affairs said it was just a fuel supply boat while local council officials described it as “giant ship.
According to press reports, Gharib said that the ship leaked petrol, killing part of the marine life in the area.. He reportedly added that all efforts to lift the ship failed and that the incident was “swept under the rug by officials.
When Daily News Egypt contacted the Ministry of Petroleum, officials denied any news about a sinking oil ship.
Abu Rdees sits on an area of 2,400 square km and is the first petrol city in Sinai with the majority of its population working in the field of petroleum.
