NationStates Jolt Archive

A ship with 1,300 people on board has disappeared from radar screens in the Red Sea, according to various media reports. Does anybody know anything about this disaster?

I'm a maritime journalist and I'm after actual news or press releases or eyewitnesses accounts. No references to online media sources please (I can find those myself easy enough). Please post accounts, links, photos etc on this forum. To contact me, send me a telegram through Nation States. My nation: Cute Dangerous Animals

Regards

Jim

A ship with 1,300 people on board has disappeared from radar screens in the Red Sea, according to various media reports. Does anybody know anything about this disaster?

I'm a maritime journalist and I'm after actual news or press releases or eyewitnesses accounts. No references to online media sources please (I can find those myself easy enough). Please post accounts, links, photos etc on this forum. To contact me, send me a telegram through Nation States. My nation: Cute Dangerous Animals

Regards

Jim

I'm just hearing about it myself. Unfortunately, there
s nothing I can tell you that CNN etc. can't.

I do hope most of those people are okay, though. A sinking ship is one of the really big bummers in life. *nod*

I'm just hearing about it myself. Unfortunately, there
s nothing I can tell you that CNN etc. can't.

I do hope most of those people are okay, though. A sinking ship is one of the really big bummers in life. *nod*
Agreed. Sinking ships can't be good. Sucks, should be more news on it within next 24-48 hours hopefully.

bbc news has a head line on it as well as a live video stream

Ferry sinks in Red Sea: 1300 missing

From Fairplay International Shipping Magazine ...
AN Egyptian ferry carrying 1,300 people has disappeared in the Red Sea. According to the owner of the 1978-built Al Salam 89 ferry, the vessel left Duba, Saudi Arabia last night as scheduled but failed to arrive in Safaga in southern Egypt this morning. No contact has been made with the vessel and it has disappeared from radar screens. Egyptian and Saudi Arabian coast guards have been scrambled and the vessel's Egyptian owner, El Salam Maritime, has diverted three of its vessels to help in a search operation. According to El Salam manager Andrea Odone no official reports of a collision have been received by the authorities. However, unconfirmed reports from another nearby vessel say lifeboats have been seen in the water. “We are still waiting for official information ourselves,” Odone told Fairplay. “There is a plane searching the area and several coastguard vessels are en route”. The passengers on board are understood to be largely Egyptian and Saudi nationals. 11:46 3 Feb

From my own magazine.

Any further help would be welcome. No refs to news agencies tho - we're monitoring those already

I'm quite dissapointed this hasn't got more attention here.

Some random woman with no influence gets removed from Congress because of an inflammatory t-shirt and there's a huge argument.

1,300 people die in a ship disaster and there's 5 posts...

I'm quite dissapointed this hasn't got more attention here.

Some random woman with no influence gets removed from Congress because of an inflammatory t-shirt and there's a huge argument.

1,300 people die in a ship disaster and there's 5 posts...

I could blame Bush for it. That'd liven up the thread.

All I know is that people are being pulled out alive, About a hundred last I heard, as well as the dead. That is all I know and that's coming from Fox!

*edit* 263 survivors so far

I could blame Bush for it. That'd liven up the thread.
Go for it, might get some replies that way.

I could blame Bush for it. That'd liven up the thread.
There might have been a suspected terrorist on board, and America blew up the ship.

There. I win this thread. :rolleyes:

Go for it, might get some replies that way.
I'll start.

This is obviously the result of a secret attack on innocent Muslim pilgrims from a B-2 Stealth bomber ordered to kill by the evil Bush....

Ok OceanDrive3, your turn...

I'll start.

This is obviously the result of a secret attack on innocent Muslim pilgrims from a B-2 Stealth bomber ordered to kill by the evil Bush....

Ok OceanDrive3, your turn...

No no no! Israel sank the ship in order to piss off the Muslims so they will attack the US and thus get the US to attack another Muslim country!

Porposes, trained by Bushites to not only find mines but to move them into shipping lanes so that Terrorists can be blamed.

or better yet, Bush Sr. once took a trip on that boat and they served him Broccoli... so his son is exacting revenge.

oh and nothing about this that I can find.

OK, now, seriously...

Many people are feared to have died after an Egyptian ferry carrying about 1,400 people sank in the Red Sea.

Dozens of bodies and at least 300 survivors were reportedly pulled from the water, as rescuers scoured the area in poor weather before darkness fell.

The al-Salam Boccaccio '98 sank about 80km (50 miles) off Egypt during an overnight trip from Duba, Saudi Arabia.

The cause of the disaster is not known, but there were high winds when the 35-year-old vessel set sail.

The Egyptian transport minister said there had been no concerns about the seaworthiness of the ship.

But President Hosni Mubarak has ordered an immediate inquiry into the cause and circumstances of the sinking.

Most of the passengers were Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia, but some were said to be pilgrims returning from Mecca.

'Complete blackout'

The ship vanished after setting sail for Safaga on Thursday evening, but no distress signal was said to have been

Warships and helicopters have been searching the area, which Ayman al-Kaffas, spokesman for the Egyptian embassy in London, described as "vast".

A spokesman for the ferry's Egyptian owner, the el-Salam Maritime Transport, said later on Friday that between 300 and 400 passengers had been rescued.

"We have found them and we took them on board one of our ships which was sent to take part in the rescue operation," Mohammed Helmy told the AFP news agency.

A British warship sent to the area has been recalled after Egypt said it was no longer needed.

The Egyptian ship was carrying 1,310 passengers and 96 Egyptian crew, Jan Maher from el-Salam Maritime Transport told the BBC.

There were about 100 people from other countries, including Saudis and Sudanese, Capt Maher said.

In Safaga, many anxious families have been waiting for hours for news of their loved ones.

"There is nobody... to tell us what is going on. We are in a complete blackout, " Ahmed Abdul Hamid, who was waiting for his cousin, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Why?

A presidential spokesman said "the speed at which the ship sank and the fact there were not enough life rafts on board confirm that there was a [safety] problem".

"But we cannot anticipate the results of the investigation," Suleiman Awad told public television.

The general manager of the Saudi branch of maritime insurance company Lloyds said earlier the ship had met all safety requirements.

"The vessel was well equipped with all lifeboats and all her certificates were valid, " Nizam Siddiqui said.

He ruled out the possibility of a collision with another ship, saying the other vessel would have reported the incident.

Shipping expert Paul Beaver told the BBC that overloading should not have been a problem.

There was a possibility one or more of the vehicles the ship was transporting could have moved, particularly in bad weather, he said.

A sister ship of the al-Salam '98 sank in the Red Sea in October after a collision. Two people were killed and 40 injured.
BBC

OK, now, seriously...


BBC
when was this?

CDA - I've not heard anything through my usual sources, but its still early. Since this wasn't a US-Flag ship, most of us in US maritime are paying attention, but don't have access to folks who are in the know.

The idiots on the news keep referring to this as a "modern day Titanic", but it reminds me more of the Estonia, frankly.

How big are those ships?

How big are those ships?
Pretty big. Typically, 1,400 people is not overloading.

Pretty big. Typically, 1,400 people is not overloading.
In 1991, a ferry in the same area sank killing 500 people, and it sank because it hit a coral reef.

when was this?
Last night.


And, as usual, the BBC seems to be the first and (pretty much) only source to cover it properly. Big headline on the main news page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

How big are those ships?

They're ferries, TFB, so they're not really that large - at least, not in terms of a merchant vessel or a cruise ship. One of the problems with ferries is that they're easy to overload, and safety equipment is expensive.

The vessel was 35 years old, but until we figure out which inspection regime they use we won't know what kind of condition the vessel was in. No way to know yet what happened.

These idiots keep talking about the Titanic. Like that's the only ship that's ever gone down. The Estonia disaster is much more similiar in my opinion.

In related news...

Attorneys for Moses have publically stated that their client had absolutely nothing to do with this instance of Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea.

These idiots keep talking about the Titanic. Like that's the only ship that's ever gone down. The Estonia disaster is much more similiar in my opinion.
It was like the Titanic!!! Except it didn't hit an iceberg, it wasn't a luxury liner, it wasn't the inaugural trip, it sank relatively fast, the water wasn't freezing, and there was no SOS received from the ship. Other than that, just the same: water gets in boat, boat sinks.

At least it's not like that lady who was amongst the passengers trapped for 14hrs in that train in Quebec during the big snowstorm a few years ago: "They didn't feed us, it was like in Titanic!"

Stupid cow.

I could blame Bush for it. That'd liven up the thread.
Perhaps, but no one would be surprised. :rolleyes:

Last night.


And, as usual, the BBC seems to be the first and (pretty much) only source to cover it properly. Big headline on the main news page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Ahem ahem. My rag, Fairplay, covered it properly at www.fairplay.co.uk
We were the first to talk to the owner. And we gave most of the other media orgs the technical data. And how old the ship is etc.

And we didn't make any stupid errors like describing the accident as taking place in 'the Dead Sea'. That's bad.

It was like the Titanic!!! Except it didn't hit an iceberg, it wasn't a luxury liner, it wasn't the inaugural trip, it sank relatively fast, the water wasn't freezing, and there was no SOS received from the ship. Other than that, just the same: water gets in boat, boat sinks.

At least it's not like that lady who was amongst the passengers trapped for 14hrs in that train in Quebec during the big snowstorm a few years ago: "They didn't feed us, it was like in Titanic!"

Stupid cow.

No mate, it's really nothing like the Titanic. The T hit an iceberg, got flooded and sank. If they'd had lifeboats for everyone, few people needed have died.

This is definitely much more like the Estonia. The problem with these kinds of ships is that they have a very shallow draught (a low keel), they get extensions put on the top (making them high-sided and more likely to tip) and worst of all, they have car decks. Once you get water in there, because they aren't segmented, the water floods in. Once the ship starts to list the extra weight of the water sloshing around seriously unbalances the ship. And when that happens, it's all over. And it's over quickly. A whole ship can go down in minutes.

The other problem is the lifeboat issue in stormy weather. Lifeboats on ferries and cruise ships swing out over the side of the ship and are either manually or mechanically lowered. Now, that's easy to do in calm weather, but when it's rough (and some waves hit 15 to 21M high) you can't deploy them.

Face it, ferries and cruise ships are death traps. You really wouldn't get me on one.

Ahem ahem. My rag, Fairplay, covered it properly at www.fairplay.co.uk
We were the first to talk to the owner. And we gave most of the other media orgs the technical data. And how old the ship is etc.

And we didn't make any stupid errors like describing the accident as taking place in 'the Dead Sea'. That's bad.
"pretty much" :rolleyes:

But well done on getting there quickly. :)

No mate, it's really nothing like the Titanic.
I would say that was implied in the first paragraph...

CDA - I've not heard anything through my usual sources, but its still early. Since this wasn't a US-Flag ship, most of us in US maritime are paying attention, but don't have access to folks who are in the know.

The idiots on the news keep referring to this as a "modern day Titanic", but it reminds me more of the Estonia, frankly.


Hi Brian's Room.

keep in touch and let me know if you hear anything. Just whack a telegram over to Cute Dangerous Animals.

Cheers

CDA

Anyone catch the part that the Captain jumped ship and that the crew locked people in there rooms?

Anyone catch the part that the Captain jumped ship and that the crew locked people in there rooms?
I heard reports that the captain and crew refused to help people... even turn around and head back. they were nearer to the shore they left when the fire broke out (20 miles I think)

Seems this was the sister ship to The Herald OF Free Enterprise, which sank in 87 (if I remember rightly) off Zeebrugge with large loss of life.

Pretty big. Typically, 1,400 people is not overloading.I can fish some Web newsSites with some articles..

But so far ive seen no Coverage at the CableNEWS .. Nothing on CNN/FOX/MSNBC... I wonder if it is the same with Printed media

I can fish some Web newsSites with some articles..

But so far ive seen no Coverage at the CableNEWS .. Nothing on CNN/FOX/MSNBC... I wonder if it is the same with Printed media

Fox News has been covering the story. Just not 24/7