Vessel Aprehended for Illegal Disposal of Livestock


Authorities were able last week to catch a vessel flying the Togo flag, and crew, that had ejected dead sheep from its cargo into the Red Sea waters, near the island of Giftun. 

General Ahmed Abdallah, Governor of the Red Sea, had given instructions to the Natural Reserves section to rapidly retrieve the carcasses as soon as word arrived of the spotting of dead sheep. A set of reports had been trickling in from Dive Centers and pleasure craft. 


A survey was immediately ordered to identify vessels that had been carrying sheep that had passed through the Suez Canal. Within six hours, a ship named ‘Alfred Awey 1’ was identified as transiting the canal on the 9th of May carrying sheep from Romania, en route to Jordan. The ship was located, ordered to  stop and boarded. 


The crew were held pending an investigation and the case referred to the Prosecutor General. As for the dead sheep, numbering 25, they were retrieved and taken to Hurghada and buried in a sanitary location. 

The Ministry of the Environment has estimated losses from this operation at 1.3 million EGP in environmental damage, retrieval and disposal costs. 

A similar case had occurred last year near Ras Gharib with the discovery of cows that had washed up ashore. 

Mr. Hassan El Tayeb Head of Naval Rescue and Red Sea Environmental Protection Agency has warned that discovery of livestock floating in the sea has a negative impact on the environment and tourism, as tourists come to the Red Sea for its beautiful natural environment. 

Mr. El Tayeb called for better cooperation between all agencies to implement procedures to stop this from happening. Suggesting authorities count live heads at the mouths to Suez Canal and upon passage from territorial waters.  This is understandably difficult since many vessels sail in international waters beyond the 40 nautical mile territorial water limit and dispose of cargo then and there. 


As translated from Youm7
https://www.youm7.com/story/2018/5/12/صور-تفاصيل-إلقاء-سفينة-تحمل-علم-توجو-خرافا-نافقة-بالبحر/3789778


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