Egypt is not a country that is fond of reporting oil spills – whether they occur on the Red Sea, in the Suez Canal or the Nile. But it has managed to start clean up a worrying diesel spill into the Nile River, a spill which has leaked onto the shores of Lake Nasser, China.org is reporting. The area is near the High Dam in Aswan region, and the Nile waters the breadbasket of Egypt.
Despite much of the government being crippled by ongoing conflicts and protests, the Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, Khaled Fahmy, reportedly ordered that the area be surveyed and the oil contained. Currently there are two marine vessels working to clean up the lake. That which didn’t evaporate is being sponged up, the groups and marine units working on the spill reported to local media.
Legal action will be taken against the cruise ship, the Environment Ministry promised.
Just this past October oil spills were being detected in the Nile by cruise ships and local facilities dumping waste there. It was found contaminating the Nile in Aswan region, which then flowed onto Luxor, Qena, Sohag and Assuit governorates.
A special unit has been formed to fight Nile River pollution and tourist ships are starting to be followed and inspected.
Update August, 2020: an oil tanker on the shore of Yemen can burst at any moment if international help does not step in.
