# Another boating disaster



## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

More than 1,200 passengers have been evacuated from a ferry that caught fire in the Red Sea.

Egyptian officials said all the passengers had been saved, but officials in Jordan said a Jordanian man had died after jumping overboard.

The ferry was travelling between the Jordanian port of Aqaba and Nuweiba in Egypt. The fire broke out when it was about 15 nautical miles from Aqaba.

Most of the passengers were said to be Egyptian migrant workers.


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## kevinthegulf (Aug 16, 2009)

*Not a disaster*



MaidenScotland said:


> More than 1,200 passengers have been evacuated from a ferry that caught fire in the Red Sea.
> 
> Egyptian officials said all the passengers had been saved, but officials in Jordan said a Jordanian man had died after jumping overboard.
> 
> ...


I have to take issue, it was not a disaster, initial reports that I have heard are that no one has died (apart from the above mentioned).

I consider that a succes, fire on a ship is one of the most dangerous fires around, ask any fireman in the Uk that has a port in there district and they will tell you ship fire is what they least like.

As a profesional Mariner for 30 years and now a surveyor I have actually inspected a ferry company here and there vessels, and I was actually very pleasantly suprised, I will not comment on a lot of other stuff I have inspected, but the standards were satisfactory, since the Al Salaam incient the egyptian authorities have put effort in, they have an inspection regime where local committess made up of professionals(engineers, doctors etc) check the vessels weekly for the safety features.

It will be intersting to see the outcome of investigation, but it is not often I have something positive to say about here, I coul be talking out of my bottom and the cause of the fire is muppetry, but a passenger ship fire with no loss of life is a good result.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

kevinthegulf said:


> I have to take issue, it was not a disaster, initial reports that I have heard are that no one has died (apart from the above mentioned).
> 
> I consider that a succes, fire on a ship is one of the most dangerous fires around, ask any fireman in the Uk that has a port in there district and they will tell you ship fire is what they least like.
> 
> ...




Glad to hear that they have an inspection regime.

Personally I think any life lost is a disaster.


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## kevinthegulf (Aug 16, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Glad to hear that they have an inspection regime.
> 
> Personally I think any life lost is a disaster.


In which case there are multiple disasters on the roads of Cairo everyday. In the time this incident took place there were probably half a dozen RTA fatalities just in Cairo.

Given the standard of journalism nowadays(not just here) and the great difficulty of getting an accurrate story after any incident, it takes a lot of sifting to get the real story, of any incident & I have done a few investigations. Whether or not the real story emerges I could not say


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

kevinthegulf said:


> In which case there are multiple disasters on the roads of Cairo everyday. In the time this incident took place there were probably half a dozen RTA fatalities just in Cairo.
> 
> Given the standard of journalism nowadays(not just here) and the great difficulty of getting an accurrate story after any incident, it takes a lot of sifting to get the real story, of any incident & I have done a few investigations. Whether or not the real story emerges I could not say




Yes there are multiple disasters on the roads every day.


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