The northern area of the Red Sea Governorate, specifically Ras Shuqair located 20 kilometers from Ras Ghareb city, witnessed an oil pollution incident caused by a sudden break in an old oil transport pipeline, resulting in crude oil leaking into the sea waters.

The Ministry of Environment in Hurghada received a report about the pollution, with oil patches extending about 1500 meters. A specialized environmental committee immediately moved to the site to estimate the affected areas and took water samples for petroleum fingerprint analysis to accurately identify the leak source.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a ship collided with the oil pipeline belonging to one of the major petroleum companies operating in the area, causing holes and a break in the pipeline, which led to the oil leak into the water.

Authorities quickly deployed rubber barriers and used marine equipment to remove the oil patches in an effort to prevent their spread to coral reefs.

The Ministry of Environment confirmed that the response follows the national emergency plan for combating oil pollution, which mandates immediate actions to contain the spill, assess damages, and hold the responsible party liable for appropriate compensation.

Environmental bodies also called for urgent updates to the old oil transport pipelines and stricter supervision of pumping and transport operations to avoid recurrence of such serious environmental incidents.