The Gulf of Suez is a long, narrow, relatively shallow, waterway with a length of 250 km, width 20-50 km and a flat bottom less than 100 m below the surface. Considerable evaporation takes place from the sea resulting in high levels of salinity, from 40 to 43 ppm.

Most of the Gulf is located in the Egyptian province of Suez, an area with a population in excess of 325.000 according to the census of 1986. Most people live in the one city, Suez, located at the southern entrance to the canal. The most important economic activities in the region revolve around the petroleum, petrochemical and fertilizer industries.

Oil Pollution

In the last few years, there has been a huge expansion in the petroleum and petrochemical industries as well as growth of population, urban projects and associated maritime traffic.

The continuous increase in activities connected with oil exploration, extraction, refining and transport has resulted in an equivalent increase of oil pollution along the Gulf, its inland waters and beaches.