First Saudi Arabian Ferries Delivered
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomed the delivery of its two Austal-built 289 ft high speed vehicle-passenger catamarans, “Riyadh” and “Cairo” during a handover ceremony in Jeddah attended by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak. Ordered by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance in 2007, the vessels are a gift to the Egyptian Government, and will assist in improving the standard of ferry services across the Red Sea. Operating on a 100 nautical mile route between Dibba in Saudi Arabia and Safaga in Egypt…
IMO Offers Support After ferry Accident
On his return from a one-day trip to Cairo in the aftermath of the tragic loss of the ferry al-Salam Boccaccio 98, IMO Secretary General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos added that this assistance was intended to ensure that the outcome of the investigation would not only identify, beyond any doubt, what caused the accident, but would also identify what lessons, if any, might be learnt so that, through the IMO system, prompt and expeditious action was taken to prevent similar accidents happening in the future. During the visit, Mitropoulos met, inter alia, with the Prime Minister of Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Nazif, and the Egyptian Transport Minister, Mr.
IMO Shocked about Egyptian Ferry Disaster
IMO Secretary General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has spoken of his shock at the devastating news of the loss of the ferry al-Salam Boccaccio 98, on passage between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with heavy loss of life in bad weather conditions. He added, "It is inappropriate at this stage to speculate on what may have been the cause of the sinking and we must wait until we receive reliable information from the Egyptian and Panamanian authorities. Since learning of the incident, Mr Mitropoulos has been in constant contact with Eng. Mohamed Mansour, the Minister of Transport and Admiral M. Mahmoud Shereen, Head of the Maritime Transport Sector in the Ministry of Transport, both of Egypt, with Mr.
