Egypt’s first captain says he was wrongly blamed for the Suez Canal disaster – which occurred while he was on another ship hundreds of miles away.
Marwa Elselehdar, 29, was at sea as commander-in-chief of Alexandria’s Aida IV command when the massive Ever Ever container ship was accidentally stranded on the waterway, the BBC reported.
But online rumors and fake news headlines have spread that it was behind the maritime disaster, which kept the main shipping route for almost a week before the release of Ever Date.
“I was shocked. I felt that I could be targeted maybe because I am a successful woman in this field or because I am Egyptian, but I am not sure,” she told the press.
The captain of the Ever Date team was not revealed, but Egyptian officials said human error could have caused the ship to crash last month.
Elselehdar – who does not work for the shipping company – said rumors of her involvement appeared to be driven by a screenshot of an Arab News doctoral degree.
“This fake article was in English, so it spread to other countries,” Elselehdar told the BBC.
“I tried so hard to deny what was in the article because it affects my reputation and all the effort I put into being where I am now.”
The false story also caused the trolls to come after her.
“The comments on the article were very negative and harsh, but there were so many other supportive comments from ordinary people and people I work with,” she said.
“My message to women who want to be in the maritime field is to fight for what you love and not let any negativity affect you,” she said.