Egyptian cruise ship disappears CNN

[Jeanette in FL]

AP report: Egyptian cruise ship with 1,300 people on board has disappeared from radar screens in Red Sea off Saudi coast.

Breaking CNN http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/03/egypt.ship.ap/index.html

How bizzare is this?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

1. MSNBC: Egyptian cruise ship disappears from radar

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11157659/

CAIRO, Egypt - An Egyptian cruise ship with 1,300 people on board has disappeared from radar screens in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast, Egyptian maritime officials said Friday.

Lifeboats carrying people have been spotted on the sea near where the ship, the "Salaam 98," was last seen on the radar screens, maritime officials said.

Saudi and Egyptian naval vessels and helicopters are conducting a search for the ship, which disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the port of Dubah, western Saudi Arabia, at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday night, the maritime officials in Suez said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.

The ship was due to have arrived at Egypt's southern port of Safaga at 3 a.m. local time, but did not, the officials added. "We lost all contact with the ship shortly after it left the Saudi port," said one maritime official at Suez. Its last position on the radar screens was 62 miles from Dubah.

[onager]

23. I'm in Egypt right now...

But up at the other end in Alexandria, right on the Mediterranean. After a short break, the weather turned pretty nasty yesterday. Up here we had rain and high winds last night. The sea is getting whipped up pretty good--my hotel is right across the street from the beach, so I have a good view.

I also spent 2 years living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is right on the Red Sea. It wasn't unusual for even fairly large boats to just...disappear. (Though never one as large as this, I don't think.) Sometimes they would just leave port at Jeddah and never come back.

Though I don't think this is the case in this incident, as a Traveler's Advisory: along with some freaky weather conditions, the Red Sea has a lot of pirate activity.

As I heard the story from a local Brit: not too long ago a Royal Navy vessel in the Red Sea picked up a distress signal. The R.N. sent up a helicopter, which soon saw a cruise ship flanked by two smaller boats. Heavily-armed people were trying to board the cruise ship and occasionally firing AK-47s at it. The helicopter did some firing itself, with a couple of missiles, and took out the pirates. Shades of the 16th century!

[Evergreen Emerald]

31. Wow!

That is scary. It seems so odd for a big ship to just suddenly vanish. Your post is interesting in that it is not uncommon for ships to just disappear! It makes me want to re-think the cruise idea.

I have always wanted to travel to Egypt. Perhaps someday when the world is calmer.

[AngryAmish]

33. Edmund Fitzgerald

[Coastie for Truth]

46. Disasters at sea have a certain macabre fascination

for those who go down to the sea in ships.

[onager]

55. I didn't mean to scare you!

:hi:

Most of the boats that disappeared out of Jeddah were yachts or fishing boats, as I remember. Not cruise ships. I was thinking of one specific case involving a man and his teenage son, who took their large pleasure boat out one day and never came back. (He worked with some of us Americans, so that one hit a little closer to home.)

I spent most of the last year in Egypt. On this trip I've been here since October. It's a great place to visit! My job has taken me all over the world, and I have to say that the Egyptians are some of the most hospitable people I've ever met.

One day I was walking along the beach here and sat down for a break near 2 road workers. They were having their lunch: foul (bean paste, pronounced "fool") wrapped in bread, sort of like a burrito.

They tried to give me half of their lunch! That sort of thing happens all the time. And people come up and ASK me to take their picture when I have my camera...unlike Saudi Arabia, where nobody wanted their picture taken and you could get arrested for photography.

If you want to take a cruise in Egypt, one of the best is a cruise down the Nile.

[Evergreen Emerald]

61. I envy you!

I love to travel and did extensively before I had to grow up and get a job! You are very lucky to have found a career that allows you to travel. I now have the house and tree and dog (not to mention kids) that have rooted me temporarily.

Egypt has always been one on my list of places to go. Also on my list is a dive around the Great Barrier Reef.

[Streetdoc270]

2. link

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/03/egypt.ship.ap/index.html

[JNelson6563]

3. Wow! I wonder what that's about.

Hmm. Maybe it hit an iceburg? :shrug:

Julie

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Nazi U-Boats?

Well the Nazis are back so I don't think a U-Boat attack would be far behind. Das Bush has sent Das Boats?

[Cooley Hurd]

8. I fear terrorism - it appears it went down very quickly...

...just speculation on my part, but the fact it disappeared from radar without a peep from the ship makes this very suspicious.

On edit - ferries have gone down quickly in the past due to failues of their bow doors, but this particular vessel was ro-ro (roll on-roll off) from her stern, and the pic I posted below shows her stern doors are above the waterline. On edit - If the weather was inclement, it's also possible she took water thru the rear door...

The ship is 35 years old, so it's always possible she blew a boiler (although this appears to be diesel-powered, I'm looking for more info on that).

[wordpix2]

36. if it were terrorism, wouldn't the pirates hold the cruise ship for ransom

That seems to be their MO these days in the ME and elsewhere

[Coastie for Truth]

63. When you work the numbers

on a large, non-compartment ship (or one where the water tight doors between compartments are left ajar) a ship will roll and sink fast.

The situation is a combination of {1) flooding and (2) a phenomena called "free surface". I don't remember it well enough to describe it without getting lost in PowerPoints and differential equations -- but when you see it - you know it -- happens fast.

[OKNancy]

4. BBC link

Cruise ship disappears in Red Sea

An Egyptian ferry carrying about 1,300 people has disappeared from radar screens in the Red Sea, Egyptian maritime officials say.
The Salaam 98 disappeared shortly after leaving the port of Duba in Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening, bound for Safaga in southern Egypt.

Rescue vessels are searching for the ship, last recorded 100km (62 miles) from Duba, but the weather is poor.

Officials said lifeboats and bodies had been seen in the sea.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4676916.stm

[Cooley Hurd]

21. A snip from the BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4676916.stm

<snip>
There are police all around Duba. You would have thought there was a terrorist incident. The place is going crazy. Hopefully, they can recover as many survivors as they can.
Nick Clarke, Duba, Saudi Arabia
</snip>

[Atmashine]

6. The Anubis Triangle

Okay made that up. But disappearing cruise ships is rather creepy.

[Cooley Hurd]

7. Pics of the Al Salam Boccaccio 98:

Only one lifeboat spotted, as per MSNBC.

<snip>
An Egyptian helicopter spotted a lifeboat carrying three people, an official said. He added the search was being hampered by bad weather.

Saudi and Egyptian naval vessels and helicopters were searching for the ship, which disappeared from radar screens shortly after sailing from the port of Dubah, western Saudi Arabia, at 7 p.m. local time on Thursday night, the maritime officials in Suez said.

<snip>
“We lost all contact with the ship shortly after it left the Saudi port,” said one maritime official at Suez. Its last position on the radar screens was 62 miles from Dubah.
</snip>

Whatever happened to her, it happened fast - like some sort of catastrophic explosion. If that turns out to be the only lifeboat launched, the loss of life will rival Titanic...:(

[Cooley Hurd]

9. CNN saying 1,406 people aboard, inc crew.

On edit: Ben Wedeman of CNN saying lifeboats (plural) spotted...

[malaise]

10. Not a cruise ship -ferry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4676916.stm
Very sad indeed.

I'm listening to BBC and the shipping expert says the weather was very bad and probably large vehicles moved and tilted the ferry. Latest - the ferry has gone down.

Edit - add.

[0007]

11. CNN will take advantage of this news and keep all negative

news about junior and the crime cabal from surfacing.

[saigon68]

12. Nothing like a little distraction for the SHEEP

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. A possible 1400 people dead not serious enough for you?

Quick, back to the analysis of what Bush lied about in his speech. So much more imnportant than human life. :sarcasm:

[saigon68]

15. Ease up a little

Yikes

:-) :-)

I was only trying to be irreverent

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. OK, it's not always easy to tell

and there have been enough American political posts on DU in the last week or so that I sometimes think a few DUers can't see outside Washington - and 2 posts in a row looked like that. I'm sorry I leapt in with the heavy sarcasm.

[Bridget Burke]

24. Hey--they weren't white enough for him to be concerned.

Especially since the ship was apparently a ferry, rather than a cruise ship. Not many tourists.

[0007]

16. The sheep dogs will be arriving soon, barking their asses off -

:hi: Do I see a pig? Nice living conditions for the sheep, eh? In comparison to these kind of sheep.

[saigon68]

17. As you can see my SHEEP are white and content and well-fed

Yours are well---- you know

LOL </sarcasm>

[saigon68]

18. OOH and Notice MY SHEEP children are SAFE

LOL

:-) :-)

[0007]

25. That was the first thing that caught me eye, mate.

I think me and you are gonna have to stand in the corner for being bad this morning. :spank:

I'm sorry folks, I was just blasting CNN for whoring the White House. I meant no disrespect to any human being or suffering to the survivors. My deepest condolences.

[saigon68]

28. Me neither

I meant no disrespect to any one

With all the bad news lately there is little left to do, but be irreverent.

I'm sure there is some explanation for the tragedy.

Its like combat humor. Sometimes the irony is lost.

[Mike Daniels]

29. Deleted by poster

[tanyev]

26. Actually I think they were irritated on Good Morning America

that they had to take a break from their Super Bowl fever and put on their serious faces for a few seconds to report about the ship. "Today? Why can't a big disaster like that happen some other day?"

[WinkyDink]

37. I'll bet. This story will disappear as fast as the ship itself.

Just another far-away transportation disaster.

[0007]

51. Yeah, I know what ya mean! 0h hum!

[truthisfreedom]

13. how awful! so many people!

i hope it wasn't terrorism.

[tatertop]

35. Old ferry, bad design (roll on, roll off)

When these ships take on water they roll over and sink fast

[fedsron2us]

52. Old Ro Ro ferries are floating death traps

When water gets on the car decks they capsize in minutes as happened to the Herald of Free Enterprise in the English Channel in 1987 (193 dead) and the Estonia in the Baltic in 1994 (852 dead).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M/S_Herald_of_Free_Enterprise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M/S_Estonia

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cooley Hurd]

20. CNN update: AP says only a dozen rescued, 15 bodies found...

:(

[Cooley Hurd]

22. Reuters update (not sounding good):

Rescuers find dozens of bodies from Red Sea ferry

Fri Feb 3, 2006 7:37 AM ET

CAIRO (Reuters) - Rescue teams picked up dozens of dead bodies from an Egyptian ferry that disappeared with some 1,300 people on board on Friday, police sources said.

"Dozens of bodies were picked up from the sea ... they were from the ferry," a police source at the port of Safaga said.
</snip>

[justice1]

30. 30 survivors so far. BBC was way ahead of our media on this story

[saigon68]

32. Egyptian authorities turned down an American offer

Egyptian authorities turned down an American offer to divert a U.S. P3-Orion maritime naval patrol aircraft to the area.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060203/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_ship_sinks;

[tatertop]

34. Wonder why

[Cooley Hurd]

38. Interesting before and after pictures of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98...

The top picture is of her identical sister, the F/B Dimitroula (this is the way the Boccaccio was originally built). On the bottom is the Boccaccio as presently configured. Talk about "ladies, please remove your hats!" Sheesh!

[BikeWriter]

40. Hmm, she looks top heavy!

[Cooley Hurd]

42. I'm sure the marine architects who drew up the mods took everything...

...into consideration, but to the naked eye, she looks like she'd heel over if a bird pooped on her bridge wing.:crazy:

[Coastie for Truth]

45. Lots of unsafe ways to move the center of gravity down

and the center of bouyancy up - and get a righting arm.

I served with a bunch of Webbies (grads of the civilian engineering school next to USMMA, Kings Point - and across the Sound from SUNY Maritime at Ft Schuyler) who specialized in that. It is an art.

[Cooley Hurd]

50. The first ship that comes to mind is the Imperator (later, Berengaria)...

They dumped hundreds of tons of concrete into her bilge and shortened her funnels to stop her from heeling, to no avail. She had healing problems until her scrapping day...

[BikeWriter]

49. Maybe not, she's at 500 fathoms or so now.

:(

[Coastie for Truth]

43. Marine Mech E/Naval Architecture 101

Looks like the center of gravity is above the center of bouyancy (or could be). Not good. That could cause it to roll over.

[Cooley Hurd]

47. I'm glad you piped in! I know of several vessels that have had...

...similar modifications (like the SS France/Norway), but this is a 430 ft vessel (versus a 1,030 foot vessel like Norway) and the mod seemed extreme to my naked eye.

[Coastie for Truth]

48. Not a real naval architect

We had 5 hours a week of lecture for 15 weeks plus a bunch of "labs" in the "Damage Control Trainer" (now that was fun :crazy: ). In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.

[annofark]

39. HAVE THEY NOT HEARD OF TITANIC

How are these massive ships getting off to sea without enough lifeboats? Boggles my mind.

[Coastie for Truth]

44. Then there's always the Sulfur Queen

My Commanding Officer was one of the investigators - and almost a decade later he would interrupt lunch or anything - and start with "Ya know - I have athroey about (this lead or that lead).

[abex]

41. maybe the sunni 'triangle' mysteriously got it nt

[nanddk]

53. Prayers to all their families. n/t

[Corgigal]

54. so sad

and also scares me to death. My 15 year old will be taking the Irish Ferry, The Ulysses, next summer with her People to People group.

I haven't even told her about this tragic accident today. Don't think I will either.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

56. I would not worry about The Ulysses..It is one of the modern wonders

of the world...watched a show about The Ulysses on the discovery channel last week, that ship is as safe as they get.

[muriel_volestrangler]

57. Survivors report fire then listing on Egyptian ferry

A fire broke out on the Egyptian ferry which sank in the Red Sea on Friday but the ship sailed on, listing more and more until it started to sink and went down in minutes, survivors said on Saturday.

The passengers, brought to the Egyptian port of Hurghada after many hours at sea, said the fire broke out below deck shortly after the Al Salam 98 left the Saudi port of Duba.

"There was thick smoke. We asked why and they told us they were putting out the fire but it got worse," said Rifat Said, 34, a passenger from Giza near Cairo.

"The ferry sailed on for two hours listing to the side. Then it just went onto its side and within five minutes it had sunk," Said told reporters.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0412267.htm

They had a fire for two hours, no distress call was sent, and then maybe a thousand people were killed when it sank? Unbelievable. If those details are true, the death of the passengers really is due to the captain.

[rfkrfk]

59. the Captain had a schedule to keep

let's face reality

what is more important?

1300 human beings
.....or......
avoiding being one minute late

the choice is obvious

if the Captain asked for outside help,
he would lose face

the brave late Captain correctly decided
in favor of his career

[threadkillaz]

58. Fire broke out on board prior to sinking

"Transport minister Mohammed Lutfy Mansour said a fire broke out on the al-Salam Boccaccio '98, which was carrying over 1,400 passengers, shortly before it sank."

http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=1515706

[Cooley Hurd]

60. eep! CNN reporting a truck "erupted in flames in the hold of the ship..."

Officials: Fire made ferry sink

SAFAGA, Egypt (CNN) -- Egypt's transport minister has said a blaze aboard an Egyptian ferry set off a sequence of events that led it to sink Friday in the Red Sea, causing what officials fear may be around 1,000 deaths.

The minister said Saturday an initial investigation showed a truck erupted in flames in the hold of the ship.

After the crew tried to put out the fire, the captain's efforts to turn the boat around caused it to tilt in heavy winds and ultimately sink.

Some survivors later described the tilting, saying it occurred slowly before the vessel sank.

Some survivors at a hospital in Hurghada told CNN they saw smoke, which smelled as if it came from an electrical fire, about two and a half hours into the trip. Hurghada is off Egypt's north-central Red Sea coast.
</snip>

Trucks spontaneously burst into flames all the time, right?:wow:

[Blue_Tires]

62. yeah, that sounds strange n/t