An Egyptian ro-ro is reported to have caused significant damage to a coral reef after grounding off Jordan.
A government official in Aqaba told The National daily that the 1,000-lane-metre Lotus (built 1990) had got stuck on Tuesday.
State broadcaster Al Mamlaka cited another unidentified source as saying that “large damage has been sustained by the coral as a result of the ship running aground in the Gulf of Aqaba”.
Witnesses reported the ro-ro ran aground in the Aqaba Marine Reserve, which comprises almost half of Jordan’s 26-kilometre coastline.
The Aqaba official said the Palau-flag Lotus was towed into the port of Aqaba later that day. An investigation has begun.
“No one is allowed to come near to the ship pending the investigation,” he said.
The official Jordanian news agency reported that divers had been sent to the site to “assess the environmental damage”.
Video footage taken by an Aqaba resident on Tuesday morning showed the Lotus in shallow waters next to the Aqaba Marine Science Station shortly after the ship ran aground.
AIS data had shown the vessel underway towards Aqaba anchorage on 13 September from Berbera in Somalia.
The vessel’s insurer is not known, according to Clarksons.
The Lotus has no port-state-control detentions on its record.
Deficiencies found
However, in March, a check in Egypt found four deficiencies, including missing entries in its International Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate.
Egyptian operator Sea Gate Management has been contacted for comment.
The manager hit the headlines in August when another of its vessels caused an oil spill in Aqaba.
Jordanian authorities said the 190-lane-metre Flower of Sea (built 1987) leaked at least 11 tonnes of fuel oil, and the slick also spread to neighbouring countries.
