Some 37 people were rescued from a capsizing RoRo ship near Egypt’s Safaga Port, located on the coast of the Red Sea, on Sunday.
The ship, named Taba, was underway some 20 nautical miles from Safaga, bound for Saudi’s port of Duba, when it started to sink, the Red Sea Ports Authority informed.
The port’s authority spokesperson AbdEl Reheem Mustafa, said the cause of the listing was improper loading as more trucks were loaded on one side of the vessel than on the other, causing the vessel to lose balance and sink.
The ship’s crew and passengers were rescued by Egyptian Naval forces, after the Safaga Naval Base received a distress signal from the ship’s crew.
Three crew members are said to have suffered fractures whereas six other passengers were reported to have sustained bruises.
The 3,133 dwt ship which was built in 1985, is managed by Lebanon-based SeaChart Marine.
Investigations into the incident are underway.
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