Jordan on Tuesday arrested an Egyptian cargo ship that had to be pulled away after it wandered close to a reserve for natural coral reefs near the shore of the Red Sea port of Aqaba.
According to them, any potential environmental harm brought on by the Lotus vessel drifting off course and into shallow waters close to the 7-km-long marine reserve was being evaluated.
A port official said that the ship’s “route has been rectified and it has been hauled to the pier and is secure,” adding that the ship was prohibited from leaving the port while an inquiry into the cause of its deviation from its course and any damage sustained was ongoing.
An official stated that the cargo ship had arrived earlier on Tuesday to load a consignment of potash from the city’s fertilizer terminal.
Jordan’s lone seaport is home to the beautiful coral reef of the city of Aqaba, which is home to numerous fish species and numerous shallow-water formations.
