The Red Sea liveaboard Exocet sank on the evening of 25 June after breaching its hull on a coral reef near Marsa Alam in southern Egypt. Initial investigations, commissioned by Egypt’s environment minister Yasmine Fouad, have revealed that the vessel ran into high waves that led to the damage and subsequent flooding.
The Exocet, a 40m vessel built in 2009 and renovated in 2015, had capacity for 24 guests in 12 cabins. At the time of the incident it was carrying mainly French divers, all of whom, along with the crew, were reportedly evacuated safely by the Egyptian Coast Guard and nearby vessels. No injuries were reported.
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In a preliminary review of the incident, Minister Fouad emphasised the importance of crew experience and knowledge of the Red Sea’s coasts and coral reef areas when managing dive-boat activities. She has appointed a committee to determine the exact cause of the incident and assess resulting damage to corals in the Sataya area, south-east of Marsa Alam.
The Red Sea Protected Areas team, which conducted interviews with Exocet’s guests and crew, confirmed that the vessel had drifted semi-submerged for several hours before sinking some 2km away from the impact point.
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Diving Attitude, Exocet‘s operator, expressed sorrow at the loss of the vessel but relief that all its passengers and crew had been safely evacuated. “The situation is tough for us who loved our beautiful boat so much,” it stated, “but for the entire team, the overriding feeling is a great relief to know that all the people present on Exocet were quickly evacuated and returned safely to Marsa Alam.”
The extent of the impact on the coral reef is still being assessed by environmental specialists.
The sinking is the latest in a series of Egyptian Red Sea liveaboard incidents over the past 15 months, including fire on Sea Legend in February, a fatal fire on Hurricane in June, the collision with a reef of New Dream near Marsa Alam days earlier, and the capsizing of the Carlton Queen near Abu Nuhas in April.
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