The report estimated the value of environmental compensation for the damage to the marine environment, beaches, and coral reefs at $24 million.
The Quseir Prosecution Office, located in the southern Red Sea governorate, has decided to refer the captain and owner of the cargo ship VSG GLORY, which sank in the city’s coral reef area, to assize court on charges of damaging the coral reef environment and polluting the coastal area after a fuel leak.
The charges asserted that the first defendant, in his capacity as the ship’s captain, and the second defendant, as its owner, committed acts that would harm marine life while passing through the territorial waters.
The ِِAccusations
The first defendant completed the voyage that began from the port of Salif in Yemen, heading towards the port of Safaga, following repeated malfunctions that befell the ship during the voyage, and his refusal to head towards the nearest port or dock that would enable specialists to repair the ship’s malfunction in a manner that would prevent the recurrence of the malfunctions that befell it, arriving at its destination at the port of Suez.
The second defendant, the owner
The prosecution explained that this happened when the second defendant, the owner, supplied spare parts that did not conform to the specifications and standards generally accepted for similar parts. The repeated malfunctions resulted in the loss of control of the ship while passing through the territorial waters of Quseir City and its collision with coral reefs, causing the damage and harm it sustained, according to what was stated in the report of the Red Sea Protected Areas Authority as indicated in the investigations.
Investigations revealed
Investigations revealed that the “VSG GLORY”, a Comoros-flagged cargo ship, was coming from a Yemeni port and was on its way to Port Tawfik in Suez. Its dimensions were 100 meters long and 19 meters wide, and that it stopped in an area close to and opposite a number of tourist resorts in the city of Quseir, which made the accident a direct threat to the nearby coral reefs, which are among the most beautiful in the world.
The inspection also proved
The inspection also proved that the ship collided with the edge of the reef in the area, causing holes and a fuel leak. It noted that there were no injuries among the ship’s crew of 21 people, including Egyptians, Indians, Iraqis and Syrians.
The ship ran aground on a coral reef
Investigations revealed that the ship ran aground on a coral reef, tilted to the right side and had a hole at the stern. An oil slick was also observed on the water surface, in violation of the Environmental Law. A final technical report was prepared on the environmental and material damages resulting from the accident and submitted to the Public Prosecution after the final inspection by environmental researchers from the Reserves Authority.
A detailed technical report
A detailed technical report was also prepared and submitted to the Public Prosecution, to indicate who was responsible for the damage to the coral reefs, the extent of the destruction, and to assess the value of the environmental and material damages resulting from the accident. The relevant authorities were also tasked with taking measures and procedures to recover the ship to preserve the environment and protect the waterway.
Related :Containment and suction of the oil spill from ship “VSG GLORY”
The environmental report
The environmental report on the accident revealed that a cargo ship ran aground and then sank on the coral reefs off the coast of Quseir, causing environmental repercussions on the beach and coral reefs. The ship was carrying approximately 4,000 tons of bran, 70 tons of diesel, and 50 tons of solar
Destruction of areas of coral reefs in the area
The report indicated that the accident caused a 60-centimeter fracture in the ship’s hull, which led to seawater leaking into its engine room, causing it to stop moving, and then completely sinking 10 days after it ran aground. This resulted in diesel fuel spots appearing in the waters surrounding the ship’s location, and damage and destruction of areas of coral reefs in the area.
The Minister of Environment formed a committee
To this end, the Minister of Environment formed a committee from the Red Sea reserves and the regional branch of the Environmental Affairs Agency to follow up on the incident immediately and coordinate with Petrosave Company to contain the pollution resulting from the sinking of the ship, and work to limit it and clean the polluted beaches to protect the marine environment and coral reefs located under the ship, and limit losses in the area, in coordination with the Red Sea Governorate and the General Petroleum Corporation.
The Red Sea Reserves
It is noteworthy that the Red Sea Reserves filed a report with the Quseir Police Department, No. 1644, Quseir Administrative, regarding environmental damage to coral reefs and the marine environment, and oil pollution due to a fuel leak in a cargo ship that ran aground and sank in the coral reefs off the beach of a tourist village in Quseir.Egyptian authorities are scrambling to salvage the VSG Glory, a cargo ship that began sinking on Monday near the coral reefs off Quseir in the Red Sea Governorate after being stranded for 10 days
The vessel
The vessel, carrying 21 crew, 4,000 metric tons of bran, 70 tons of fuel oil and 50 tons of diesel, sustained a 60-centimeter (23.6 inch) hull breach, allowing seawater to flood its engine room. Its crew has since been rescued.
The Public Prosecution
The Public Prosecution also heard statements from marine inspection officials regarding the causes and circumstances of the accident, and requested a detailed report on the causes of the accident from the governorate’s reserves.
The Ministry of Environment’s Environmental Compensation Committee has prepared an environmental report on the grounding and sinking of a cargo ship that sank in the coral reef area north of Quseir. The report estimated the value of environmental compensation for the damage to the marine environment, beaches, and coral reefs at $24 million.
