North Sea

North Sea: Recently, a cargo ship hit a tanker carrying jet fuel for the American military off eastern England, setting both vessels on fire and sending fuel pouring into the North Sea.

• About North Sea: It is a shallow northeastern arm of the Atlantic Ocean, covering 220,000 square miles (570,000 square km) between the British Isles and northwestern Europe.
• Bordered by: Great Britain (southwest and west), Orkney and Shetland islands (northwest), Norway (northeast), Denmark (east), Germany and the Netherlands (southeast), and Belgium and France (south).
• Connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Dover and the English Channel.
• The Skagerrak links the North Sea to the Baltic Sea via the Kattegat and the Danish straits.
• Major rivers draining into the North Sea include: Forth, Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine and Meuse, Scheldt, Thames, and Humber.
• Economic Importance: One of Europe’s most productive fisheries. A major shipping zone for trade among European countries and between Europe and the Middle East. It contains significant reserves of petroleum and natural gas beneath the seafloor.