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Petroleum
Tankers in Alexandria, Egypt
We live in the seaport of Alexandria that
is the largest port in Egypt. A lot of ships come & go in Alexandria
Harbour. Also, Egypt has the Suez Canal, which is the most used canal
in the world. It joins the Mediterranean Sea & the Red Sea that leads
to the Indian Ocean. So, it is the easiest and quickest way to move
from Europe to the Arabian Gulf and the countries of South Asia.
And
here comes the PROBLEM: The oil tankers going from the Arabian
Gulf to Europe pass through the Suez Canal & usually pass by Alexandria
too. As you all know the sea is not to be trusted because it’s
so deceiving. It has happened more than once that these tankers
have sunk in our waters. When these tankers sink, they go down with all
the tons of petroleum they had on board. Of course this is
dangerously threatening for marine life.
A
very well known accident of this type happened a while ago in a suburb
called “Abu Quir” in Alexandria.
Abu Quir is one of the richest fishing areas in the city. The
consequences of this accident on the fishing industry were enormous. All
marine life was harmed and fishing was banned for several months,
not only in the Abu Quir waters but also in the whole of Alexandria.
As a result, all the fishermen were without jobs with no way of earning
their living.
The evidence of this terrible accident is still there in the water for all to see. There are several barrels of petroleum under water that would burst if removed, so they remain there.
But this was not just an incident that has passed. Too often for comfort, a tanker sinks and everyone is harmed. WHY???!! WHOSE FAULT IS IT??!!!! Is it our fault that we let tankers sail in our waters??? Or is it humanities' fault for using petroleum???? OR is it the sea’s fault?? More important:
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION????????
I*earn
E.G.C Alexandria
NMMLH group
Nadine El-Hadad
Margaret Safwat
Mai Solaiman
Lamiaa Lofty
Heba El-Ayouby