 al-Salam Boccaccio 98 in Genoa, 2001
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Italy | |
| Name | Boccaccio |
| Owner | Tirrenia di Navigazione |
| Operator | Tirrenia di Navigazione |
| Port of registry |  Italy |
| Builder | Italcantieri S.p.A. of Monfalcone, Italy |
| Laid down | 22 August 1968[1] |
| Launched | 8 June 1969 |
| Completed | 30 June 1970 |
| Refit | 1991 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6921282 |
| Fate | Sold in 1999 to El Salam Maritime Transport. |
 Egypt | |
| Name | al-Salam Boccaccio 98 |
| Owner | Pacific Sunlight Marine Incorporated of Panama |
| Operator | El Salam Maritime Transport |
| Port of registry |  Egypt |
| Acquired | 1999 |
| Fate | Capsized and sank on 3 February 2006. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ro/Ro passenger ferry |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 130.99 m |
| Beam | 23.6 m |
| Draught |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 105 crew |
The MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98 was an Egyptian Ro/Ro passenger ferry, operated by El Salam Maritime Transport, that sank on 3 February 2006 in the Red Sea en route from Duba, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga in southern Egypt.
The ship was carrying about 1400 passengers and crew. The majority are thought to have been Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia, but they included pilgrims returning from the Hajj in Mecca. The ship was also carrying about 220 vehicles.[2] No Mayday had been heard from the ship and poor weather conditions hampered the search and rescue operation. 388 people were rescued.[3]
The immediate cause of the sinking appears to have been a buildup of seawater in the hull, when the firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire in the engine room. This was compounded by design faults inherent in Ro/Ro vessels, where minor flooding of the deck can gain rapid momentum due to the free surface effect. When the captain asked permission to return to port, the ship's owners ordered him to continue, despite knowing that there had been a fire. The owners were jailed in 2009 after their original acquittal was overturned.
- ^ "M/V al-Salam Boccaccio 98" (PDF). RINA. 11 May 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2006.
- ^ AP Wire | 02/03/2006 | Most of 1,400 on doomed ferry feared lost, SanLuisObispo.com.
- ^ "Egypt ferry probe raps officials". BBC News. 19 April 2006.