Tanker broke in two off Suez

[Timsen]

The empty Panama-flagged tank m/v "Elli" on Aug 28 sank near the southern entrance of Egypt's Suez canal as it headed to dry docks for maintenance. The sinking of the ship has not disrupted normal shipping through the busy trade route. The vessel has a capacity of 59,000 tonnes but was only carrying its own fuel supply of around 60 tonnes. Authorities from the canal, which connects the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, sent out vessels to rescue 24 sailors from the ship before it sank. The ship had travelled from Yemen for repairs in Suez port and had split in half during cleaning. Egyptian authorities plan to use heavy machinery to recover the vessel and investigate the reason for its sinking. None of the 25 crew members was hurt and canal traffic was not disrupted. The tanker broke apart while waiting to dock 15 nautical miles from port Taufiq, at the southern entrance to the canal. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

[Andrew McAlpine]

Reports and photos can be found here :

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2009/08/28/10652606-ap.html

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/world/article/295652--panamanian-fuel-tanker-splits-in-half-sinks-near-suez-canal

courtesy of Cnews & Metronews

[Mats]

I found another picture HERE.

It looks insane. To my knowledge it has not happaned to a large tanker since the famous "Energy Concentration" incident in Europoort in 1980.

[Mark davies]

It has been reported she'd grounded off Yemen and was towed to Suez for drydocking and inspection.