Egypt demands more compensation for oil spill

ISMAILIA: A Liberian tanker impounded in Egypt for spilling oil in the Suez Canal is facing more than LE 50 million ($8.7 million) in compensation demands, a Canal Authority official said on Thursday. The official said that the authority would ask the owners of the P.C. Anna to pay around LE 30 million in damages and for clean up costs. Egypt s environmental agency has already asked for LE 10 million in compensations, and local fisherman and tourist resort owners are demanding a further LE 15 million in damages, bringing total claims against the tanker to LE 55 million. The tanker, which is listed as owned by Trade Maestro, hit the canal bank while trying to moor after a supertanker ran aground ahead of it, breaching its hull and causing it to spill about 600 tons of crude oil. The oil spill covered an area three km by 400 meters, and is still being cleaned up. In September, Egypt decided to release another impounded Liberian tanker, the Grigoroussa 1, after its owners agreed to pay $3.4 million in compensation for spilling oil in the canal. The Grigoroussa 1 had been impounded since February, when it spilled 3,000 tons of oil into the waterway, causing extensive pollution and disrupting traffic.