A Tragedy in the Red SeaAlSalam 98
by
Iman Seoudi, Ph.D.Director, KCC
Assistant Professor of Strategy & EntrepreneurshipAUC School of Business
Second Responsible Management Education Research ConferenceInclusive Businesses
AUC, 7-8 September 2015
The Journey
The Journey
• Thursday 2nd February 2006 at 9:00 PM
• From Duba port in Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt
• Carrying 96 crew members, 1320 passengers & 220 cars
• Due to arrive in Safaga at 3:00 AM.
• 230 km – 126 nm
The Journey
• Salam 98 Boccaccio was a roll on – roll off ferry (roro)
• Roros are not very safe because
– Doors right above waterline
– Large open space for transporting cargo/cars
– Free surface effect (tilting if water gets in)
• Salam 98 even less stable due to 2 new passenger decks
A Story of Negligence
Disaster Sets In
• Sparks from A/C catch fire with full car fuel tank
• Car fuel tanks are supposed to be empty before boarding on roros
• Crew member on duty below deck no at his post when fire broke out
• Fire extinguishers were dysfunctional
• Water hoses used in stead; hence free surface effect; hence tilting
Disaster Sets In
• Captain was told fire is out
• First engineer ordered opening of garage doors
• Oxygen fueled the fire which picked up again
• Captain: use water hoses on the left and drain water from garage
• 8 out of 12 drainage pumps were clogged
Too Late
• Ship started tilting to the right more & more
• Passengers all moved left to no avail
• Captain ordered crew to turn vessel 20 degrees to counter this motion
• It was too late
• Al Salam 98 had started its 10 minute descent to the bottom of the red sea
Too Late
• Ship had 10 life boats with capacity 100 people each
• 88 life rafts with capacity 25 people each
• It was too late to lower them
• Passengers would not be able to reach the life boats and rafts from the side if ship had listed 15 degrees
The Salam Tragedy
Moments of Horror
• Survivors tell of awful scenes
• Passengers on left side fell more than 15 meters hitting sections of deck and equipment before falling into water
• Yelling, screams, huge waves and death everywhere
• Boat with more than 50 survivors, some of whom suffocated to death
• All agree: Captain was first in a life boat
A Story of Negligence
• Al Salam was manufactured in 1967 by the Italian company Italcantieri
• launched in 1970 under the name of Boccaccio • Only intended for sailing in domestic Italian waters• In 1991, 2 large passenger decks were added to its
structure• Sold to Al Salam for Maritime Transport in 1999 and re-
named Al Salam 98 Boccaccio • Egyptian company, headquartered in Cairo, owned by
Mamdouh Ismail - former appointed member of parliament, hired by ex-president Mubarak, & member of the board of the Port Authority of the Red Sea
A Story of Negligence
• Lloyd’s List:The ferry was sold because it “did not meet the requirements of the Stockholm Agreement for such vessels operating in European waters” (Maritime Knowledge Center 4)
• Egyptian law: a vessel that was more than 25 years old would not be given license to operate
• Al-Salam 98 Boccaccio was 35 years old
• license was obtained from the Pacific Sunlight Marine Inc. of Panama instead
A Story of NegligenceParliamentary inquiry:
• Life boats were not fit for use
• Telestar, a subsidiary company, serviced the boats
• Telestar, owned by a relative of MamdouhIsmail, had an expired license
• Pride of Al Salam had also sunk in as a result of a collision, killing 11 and injuring 98 in 2005
A Story of Negligence
AT SAFAGA PORT
• Al Salam scheduled to arrive at 3AM
• No attempts from port to contact vessel when late
• No distress signals from vessel until moments before going down
• The RAF (Royal Airforce) rescue operations room in Kinloss Scotland picked up Mayday signal & relayed it to Egyptian authorities through France
• Al Salam Maritime Transport did not alert the port authorities until 6AM; a full 3 hours after the ferry sunk
A Story of NegligenceBelated Rescue Operation:
• Saint Catherine, another ship belonging to AlSalamMaritime Transport fleet sailed by at 6:57 AM
• Salah Gomaa, captain of Saint Catherine was aware the ferry established radio contact with 3rd lieutenant
• Lieutenant reported from life boat about disaster
• Salah Gomaa relayed the info to company headquarters and Duba port
• AND CONTINUED HIS JOURNEY……….!!!
Failure of Leadership• Amr Mamdouh Ismail calls Port authority and
reports the vessel missing (Not Sunk!!!)
• This delayed rescue operation even more
• Helicopter flew over scene 9 AM and dropped life rafts and life buoys
• Helicopter went back to report to port and launch rescue operation
• Rescue boats arrived 10 full hours after sinking although wreckage 80km from Egyptian shore
The Journey’s End
The Journey’s End
The Journey’s End
• Survivors floated 10-18 hours without food or water in shark infested waters
• Many died of exposure
• Out of 1516 passengers and crew:
– 387 survivors
– 135 dead bodies pulled from water
– 994 missing (surely dead!)
Chaos & Police Brutality at the Port
• Families of passengers waited hours in Safagaport and were told nothing
• After starting protests, riot police was called in
• Families started throwing rocks at riot police injuring 11 policemen
• Tear gas was fired at families
• Red Crescent tried to help families by providing blankets, food and drink
The Escape
• Mamdouh Ismail, his son, and one other executive from the company fled to London, England
• He paid EGP 300,000 to families of deceased and
• After a 2 year trial, all parties were exonerated except Salah Gomaa, who was fined EGP 10,000 for lacking compassion
• The court decision was based on documents presented to court that the ship was free of defects and had valid licences
Court’s Initial Ruling
Through Egyptian Courts
• The case was appealed on allegations of corruption and forged documentation, as Mamdouh Ismail was well connected to the Mubarak family
• March 2009, a higher Appeals Court of Safagasentenced Mamdouh Ismail to 7 years of prison (max. 10 yrs for manslaughter) for negligence
• Two top executives in company were sentenced to 3 years imprisonment
Rewarding the Negligent
A Commentator:
• The company was to receive million in insurance compensation for the sunken vessel
• It paid compensation for the deceased victims, survivors and car owners, that is a fraction of the compensation considered fair by international law standards .
• That may leave the company with a few million dollars as a reward for its negligence!
What is responsible business?
What is inclusive business?