A fuller statement followed: ‘CDWS announced this evening that all diving and watersports have been suspended along the Sharm el-Sheikh coastline tomorrow (Monday 6 December 2010). The suspension comes following a 4th incident in less than one week involving a shark attack on a tourist. Today’s event took place off the beach in front of the Hyatt Hotel, Naama Bay. Unfortunately, the 70-year-old German woman did not survive. Last week, similar attacks took place involving Ukrainian and Russian snorkellers. These incidents led to severe injuries, but no loss of life. CDWS is the regulatory body for diving and water sports in Egypt and would like to emphasise that such attacks are extremely rare and this kind of shark behaviour is causing disbelief amongst the Red Sea diving community.’
The shark attacks in the Red Sea also prompted an official safety warning from the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). It is a warning which still remains on its information website:
Safety and Security – Adventure Travel
Before undertaking any adventure activity ensure that your travel insurance covers you for the activity.
If you are considering diving or snorkelling in any of the Red Sea resorts be aware that safety standards of diving operators can vary considerably. A basic rule is never to dive or snorkel unaccompanied. Where possible make any bookings through your tour representative. Unusually cheap operators may not provide adequate safety and insurance standards. Ensure that your travel insurance covers you fully before you dive. Diving beyond the depth limit of your insurance policy will invalidate your cover.
The Egyptian Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS) website provides further details and regular updates on diving conditions in Sharm el-Sheikh, including advice following a number of shark attacks on 30 November, 1 December and 5 December in which a tourist died and three others were injured. Shark attacks of any kind are very unusual in the Red Sea but we advise that you monitor updates issued by the local authorities and your tour operator.
Ensure that your travel insurance covers you fully before you dive. Diving beyond the depth limit of your insurance policy will invalidate your cover. You should also ensure that your travel insurance, or that of the tour or dive company, provides adequate cover for the costs involved in any air/sea rescue if you are lost at sea. The current fee can exceed US$4000 per hour. The Egyptian authorities will only undertake air/sea rescue operations on receipt of a guarantee of payment. The British Embassy is unable to provide this initial guarantee, but does facilitate communication between insurance companies and the Egyptian authorities.
The German Embassy in Cairo, which was involved in returning Renate Sieffert’s body home, said it would not issue a warning to German tourists about the threat of sharks, stating: ‘We look at this as an unfortunate, sad, but classic accident. It is obvious that those who go swimming in the Red Sea should be careful – especially after the incidents of the past few days.’ Salem Saleh, director of Sharm El Sheikh’s tourist authority, had to admit: ‘We did make some efforts last week, but I think we failed.’ Gen el-Edkawy of the South Sinai Government reported no tourists had cancelled trips to the resort following the death. Bent on proving all was well, he donned a wetsuit and jumped into the water just yards away from where Renate Sieffert was attacked. After 20 minutes he emerged, pulled his snorkel mask to one side and announced: ‘I saw a lot of beautiful marine life – it was wonderful, everything is wonderful! This city is a gift from God and I’m sure everything is safe.’
Egypt’s tourism minister Zuhair Garana now declared the Red Sea safe: ‘I cannot say that deep waters are completely secure but shallow waters are 100 per cent secure. Diving is being allowed. We are advised that sharks will not attack divers.’ South Sinai governor Mohammed Shosha lamely proffered: ‘We did catch the sharks – there is another shark.’
That other shark was a female Oceanic Whitetip – and the very one witnessed by those in the shallow waters moments before Renate Sieffert was fatally attacked and before the first victim, Olga Martsinko was savaged. While an ‘innocent’ member of the species had been slaughtered, the real killer – complete with the distinctive fin damage identified by so many and which should have led to a much earlier ceasing of its reign – had been left at large. ‘There were underwater pictures and videos of the shark. She had very distinct markings in her tail mainly. There was a clear indentation at the upper edge of the tail. That was a very rare notch for a shark to have, so she was easy to identify,’ said Dr. Bojanowski.
It is perhaps understandable that no one knew exactly what to do about the predator. The last shark fatality in Egypt – and the first for five years – had been in January of that year but it occurred just south of Marsa Alam, a remote diving area a long way from Sharm El Sheikh, where such attacks are almost unheard of. Indeed, worldwide, statistics proved just how extraordinary the Red Sea Attacks were. According to the International Shark File, which has a global shark database, there had only been nine attacks on humans by Oceanic Whitetips since records began in 1580 and only one of those had been fatal. One diving centre owner claimed the local shark attacks were the first around Sharm El Sheikh for 15 years, although other locals said there had been an attack two years ago and divers claimed they had alerted the authorities to the presence of sharks in the last few months. Ezat Ezat of the Wave Dive Centre said that people want to dive among the sharks: ‘They get angry if there are none around. It’s good for us to go and see the sharks, but not so good when the sharks come and see us.’
Just a few weeks before the shark attacks in Egypt, Dr. Avi Baranes, a scientist at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, presented a report to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities summing up 30 years of research on Red Sea sharks. In an interview with Haaretz.com, Baranes said: ‘Sharks are actually quite nice. It’s true that a violent confrontation between swimmers and sharks is an exceptional event. I think there have only been two cases in all our history: with a British English soldier in 1946 and an attack in Eilat in 1974. Unfortunately, the film Jaws gave sharks a bad name, and unjustifiably so. Many more people are eaten by dogs than by sharks, and this is because sharks are uniquely attached to their own particular food. So, when there are incidents like this, we have to look for a cause. Sharks attack people when they invade their territory, and then their reaction is aggressive, as it is when they are unable to obtain their natural food.’
The marine expert added that a Mako shark attacked a German tourist in 1974 at the popular diving resort of Eilat (the shark was caught the next day and it was found to have a spinal problem and could not swim fast). Said Baranes: ‘This was a shark that usually fed on tuna and it simply could not obtain its regular food. In Sinai I know of cases where sharks simply bit the legs of Bedouin fishermen who were standing on reefs. This is the response to an invasion by humans into the shark’s living space, and this can also happen when divers enter their territory. I suggest we not be afraid of sharks. We must respect them, and we can look at them in the water. I also suggest that we refrain from trying to attack them because they will respond and they have the strength and the means to defend themselves. Just enjoy the view. There is nothing more beautiful than a shark swimming in the sea.’
It was now obvious the authorities had to do more. Again the beaches were closed and signs erected with the warning: ‘As per the latest instructions by the South Sinai Government, please avoid swimming in deep water as there are threats related to sharks.’ Sales of snorkel masks and flippers from the beachside shops dropped. The once-humorous T-shirts with a picture of a shark and the words ‘How ’Bout Lunch?’ were no longer funny.
For some, such actions were not enough after the fatality and other attacks – the threats should have been heeded earlier. Accompanied by his wife, British man Terry Collins was in a party of snorkellers the day before the