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Post by ferryfast admin on Feb 5, 2006 1:12:32 GMT -5
The Times February 04, 2006
Lower safety standards apply on the Red Sea
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent RED SEA ferries conform to much lower safety standards than those serving British ports.
Rules governing roll-on, roll-off ferries in northwest Europe were tightened after two disasters. The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized as she left Zeebrugge harbour in 1987, killing 193 people. The Estonia sank in the Baltic in 1994, drowning 852.
In both cases, water entered the car decks through the bow doors. The water sloshed from side to side in heavy seas until the ferries capsized.
Since 2002 the European ferries have had to be capable of surviving half a metre of water on the car deck. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) rules covering the Egyptian ferry do not require ferries to withstand even a small flood.
European rules specify that a ferry must remain afloat even when two watertight compartments have been flooded. The IMO minimum is one flooded compartment.
Edmund Brookes, safety chief at the British Chamber of Shipping, suspects that the Egyptian ferry capsized after water penetrated the car deck.
“There must have been some breach of the watertight shell. It’s a very old ship and it probably only had one watertight compartment below the water line,” he said.
David Osler, of Lloyd’s List, said the ferry’s stability had been reduced when two extra passenger decks were added.
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