- MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98
The MS "al-Salam Boccaccio 98" (Arabic: Salam سلام means "peace") was an
Egypt ian Ro/Ro passengerferry , operated byEl Salam Maritime Transport , that sank on3 February 2006 in theRed Sea en route fromDuba ,Saudi Arabia , toSafaga in southern Egypt. Its last known position was 100 km (62 miles) from Duba, when it lost contact with the shore at about 22:00 EET (20:00 UTC). [ citenews|title=Ferry carrying 1,300 sinks in Red Sea|org=Reuters|date=2006-02-03 |url= http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-02-03T122229Z_01_L0317771_RTRUKOC_0_US-EGYPT-FERRY-AGENCY.xml]The ship was carrying 1,312 passengers and 96 crew members, according to Mamdouh Ismail, head of al-Salaam Maritime Transport Company. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060204/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_ship_sinks;_ylt=AvQfU3zxAIPmmNEkbpyQYKhvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--] Dead link|date=March 2008] Earlier an Egyptian
embassy spokesman inLondon had mentioned 1,310 passengers and 105 crew (however, the Egyptian presidential spokesman mentioned 98 crew, while the Transport Minister said 104). [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_ship_sinks] Dead link|date=March 2008] [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060203/wl_mideast_afp/egyptsaudiaccidentsea_060203204832;_ylt=Agu2y7Ie3A94v8OQsTjTnWUUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--] ] The majority are thought to have been Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia, but they also included pilgrims returning from theHajj inMecca . The ship was also carrying about 220 vehicles. [http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/world/13783093.htm]No
SOS had been heard from the ship and poor weather conditions hampered thesearch and rescue operation. Only 388 people were rescued. [citenews|title=Egypt ferry probe raps officials|org=BBC|date=2006-04-19 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4924802.stm]hip history
The vessel was built by the Italian company
Italcantieri in1970 with IMO number 6921282 and named the "Boccaccio" atMonfalcone ,Italy forTirrenia di Navigazione . It was originally intended for Italian domestic service. [Overview Press Ltd, "Ferries 2004 Southern Europe"] Its dimensions included 130.99 m length overall with 23.60 m beam and 5.57 m draft. The main engines are rated at 16,560 kW for a maximum speed of 19 knots. The vessel had an original capacity of 200 automobiles and 1000 passengers. Five sister ships were built.The vessel was rebuilt in
1991 by INMA atLa Spezia , maintaining the same outer dimensions albeit with a higher superstructure, changing the draught to 5.90 m. At the same time its automobile capacity was increased to 320 and the passenger capacity was increased to 1,300. The most recent gross registeredtonnage was 11,799.The "Boccaccio" was purchased in
1999 byEl Salam Maritime Transport , headquartered inCairo , the largest private shipping company inEgypt and theMiddle East , and renamed "al-Salam Boccaccio 98"; the registered owner is Pacific Sunlight Marine Inc. ofPanama . She is also referred to as "Salam 98".The sinking
First reports [citenews|title=Reports of survivor statements|org=BBC| date=
2006-02-04 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4679836.stm ] of statements by survivors indicated that smoke from the engine room was followed by a fire which continued for some time. There were also reports of the ship listing soon after leaving port and that after continuing for some hours the list became severe and the ship capsized within 10 minutes as the crew fought the fire. In a BBC radio news broadcast an Egyptian ministerial spokesman said that the fire had started in a storage area, was controlled, but then started again. The ship turned round and as it turned the capsize occurred. The significance of the fire was supported by statements attributed to crew members who were reported to claim that "the firefighters essentially sank the ship when sea water they used to battle the fire collected in the hull because drainage pumps were not working". [citenews|title=Report of crew statements|org=Washington Post| date=2006-02-04 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/04/AR2006020400473.html ]Weather conditions
The Red Sea is known for its strong winds and tricky local currents. [citenews|title=Egyptian passenger ship sinks in Red Sea; 20 confirmed dead; 100 survivors rescued|org=CJAD 800|date=
2006-02-03 |url= http://www3.cjad.com/content/cp_article.asp?id=/global_feeds/CanadianPress/WorldNews/w020339A.htm] The region had been experiencing high winds and dust storms for several days at the time of the sinking. These winds may have contributed to the disaster and may have complicated rescue efforts.The closest maritime weather report [ [http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ National Data Buoy Center ] ] for
3 February 2006 00:00 UTC was from MV "Glasgow Maersk",call sign MZGK7. Reporting from 27.00°N 34.40°E, approximately 150 km north-north-west of the sinking, thecontainer ship shows winds of 24.1 kt (13 ms-1) from 320 degrees, with a surface pressure of 1005 hPa. Sea temperature was 25°C and a significant wave height of only 45 cm.Visibility was good (10 km), with 7/8 cloud cover. There was also an activeweather front overlying the area, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
] clearly visible inMETEOSAT imagery. [http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/~idds/images/out/SDDI-20060202-2100-BNW-08-IR_108-03-600.jpg]Possible causes
There have been several theories expressed about possible causes of the sinking.
* Fire: Some survivors dragged from the water have reported that there was a large fire on board before the ship sank, and there have been eyewitness accounts of thick black smoke coming from the engine rooms.
* Design flaws: The al-Salam Boccaccio 98 was a
roll on-roll off (ro-ro) ferry. This is a design that allows vehicles to drive on one end and drive off the other. This means that neither the ship nor any of the vehicles need to turn around at any point. It also means that the cargo hold is one long chamber going through the ship. To enable this to work, the vehicle bay doors must be very near thewaterline , so if these are sealed improperly, water may leak through. Even a small amount of water moving about inside can gainmomentum andcapsize a ship, in a way known as theFree Surface Effect .* Modifications: In the 1980s the ship was reported to have had several modifications, including the addition of two passenger decks, and the widening of cargo decks. This would have made the ship less stable than it was designed to be, particularly as its draught was only 5.9m. Combined with high winds, the tall ship could have been toppled easily.
* Vehicle movement: Another theory is that the rolling ship could have caused one or more of the 220 vehicles in its hold to break loose and theoretically be able to puncture a hole in the side of the ship.
earch and rescue
At 23:58 UTC on
2 February 2006 the air-sea rescue control room at RAF Kinloss inScotland detected an automatic distress signal relayed by satellite from the ship's position. The alert was passed on via France to the Egyptian authorities. [citenews|title= Egyptian Ship Sinks At Sea|org=Sky News|date=2006-02-03 |url=http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1211215,00.html]On
3 February 2006 some lifeboats and bodies were seen in the water. At least 314 survivors and around 185 dead bodies were recovered.Reuters reported that "dozens" of bodies were floating in the Red Sea. [citenews|title= Ship with 1,400 sinks in Red Sea|org=CNN|date=2006-02-03 |url= http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/03/egypt.ship/index.html]Rescue boats and helicopters searched the area, including four Egyptian frigates. Britain diverted the
warship "HMS Bulwark" which would have arrived in a day-and-a-half, but reports conflict as to whether or not the ship was recalled.citenews|title=Dozens of Bodies, Survivors in Red Sea.|org=New York Times/Associated Press|date=2006-02-03 |url = http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Egypt-Ship-Sinks.html] [citenews|title=Many Dead as Egyptian Ferry Sinks.|org=BBC|date=2006-02-03 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4678368.stm] Israeli sources report that an offer of search and rescue assistance from the Israeli Navy was declined. [citenews|title=Egyptian cruise ship sinks in Red Sea|org=Jerusalem Post|date=2006-02-03 |url= http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622540255&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull] Egyptian authorities accepted aUnited States offer of aP-3 Orion maritime naval patrol aircraft after initially having said that the help was not needed.Many survivors reported seeing the captain of the vessel being the first one to leave the ship in a life boat [AP 2-04-06] .
imilar incidents
*The sinking of "al-Salam Boccaccio 98" was compared to that of the
1987 MS "Herald of Free Enterprise" disaster, which killed 193 passengers, and also to other incidents.*In
1991 another Egyptian ferry, the "Salem Express ", sank off the coast of Egypt after hitting a smallhabili reef. 464 Egyptians lost their lives. The ship is now a landmark shipwreck for SCUBA divers along with the "SS Thistlegorm ".*In
1994 , the MS "Estonia" sank, claiming 852 lives.*On
26 September 2002 the MV "Le Joola", aSenegalese government-owned ferry, capsized off the coast ofGambia resulting in the deaths of at least 1,863 people.*On
17 October 2005 , the "Pride of al Salam 95 ", a sister ship of the "al-Salam Boccaccio 98", also sank in the Red Sea, after being struck by the Cypriot-registered cargo ship "Jebal Ali". In that accident, two people were killed and another 40 injured, some perhaps during a stampede to leave the sinking ship. After evacuating all the ferry passengers and crew, the "Jebal Ali" went astern and the "Pride of al Salam 95" sank in about 3½ minutes.Trial of owners
In July, 2008 the owner of the al-Salam, Mamdouh Ismail, along with his son Amr Ismail and two others were acquitted of wrong doing in connection with the disaster by an Egyptian court. An earlier parliamentary inquiry blamed Ismail's comply for the disaster, saying they had operated the ferry despite serious defects. Also, the recovered data recorder proved that the ferry's owner knew there had been a fire on board but gave orders to continue on instead of returning to port as the captain had requested. [citenews|title=Grief And Outrage In Egypt|org=CNN|date=
2008-07-31 |url = http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/middle.east/blog/2008/07/grief-and-outrage-in-egypt.html] Family member of the victims felt the ruling was brought about by corruption. Ismail is a member of Egypt's upper house and is very well connected. [citenews|title=Anger at Egyptian ferry verdict|org=BBC|date=2008-07-27 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7527652.stm]References
External links
*sv icon [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/boccaccio_1970.htm "Boccaccio" (1971) vessel information]
*" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4676916.stm Egyptian ferry sinks in Red Sea ] " atBBC News
*" [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2023480,00.html Hunt for survivors as crowded Egyptian ferry sinks] " at Times Online
*" [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/03/egypt.ship/index.html Passenger ferry sinks in Red Sea] " atCNN
* [http://www.elsalammaritime.com/pvessels.html al-Salam homepage]
* [http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/FE6.html#anchor74048 Simplon Postcards] contains photos of sister ship that sank in 2005fi:M/S al-Salam Boccaccio 98
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