CAIRO: A Kuwaiti ship was penalized $500,000 for polluting Suez Canal water and the Red Sea earlier this week, the state-run MENA news agency reported. The Kuwaiti ship, named Hammurabi, had caused a large oil spill in the canal waters and the Egyptian Ministry of Environment had ordered the holding of the ship at the Ain Sokhna port upon its arrival. The incident occurred in the Ras Ghareb area of the Red Sea. Ras Ghareb, 150 kilometer north of Hurghada, produces 67 percent of Egypt's oil and it is where many companies drill for oil deep in the Red Sea. The ship reportedly paid the fine after dealing with Egypt's Environmental Agency responsible for oil spills in Suez. The ministry revealed no further news about the process cleaning the oil slick from the waters and information is scarce over what is currently happening. Once the procedures to release the ship were completed it commenced travel and is no longer in Egyptian waters, the ministry did report. Oil spills are not new to Egypt. In 2006, two major oil spills occurred in the Red Sea and inside the Suez Canal at the Bitter Lake – the lake used as a place passing ships wait before continuing through the one-lane canal. At least 3,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil spilled into the Red Sea on February 20 that year. And in September 2009, 1,000 metric tons of crude oil poured into the Bitter Lake. BM
