Oil spill threatens Egypt's Suez Canal

ISMAILIA, Egypt, Sep 22: Clean up crews worked to stop the spread of 5,000 tonnes of crude oil which leaked into Egypt's Suez Canal from an oil tanker, officials said.

A Liberian-flagged tanker with a cargo of 84,000 tonnes collided with a bank of the canal on Wednesday, breaching its hull and causing the spill, the official said yesterday.

The vessel had been attempting to moor after a supertanker ran aground ahead of it.

Clean up crews were trying to contain the spill in the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia with foam and solvents. Canal authority divers were working to repair the vessel, the official, who asked not be named, said.

Traffic through the canal, which had been rerouted because of the grounded tanker, had returned to normal yesterday, officials said.

Reuters