A Maltese ship caught fire today in a waiting area south of the Suez Canal, Egyptian port officials said, adding there was no word on the fate of the crew.
They said the fire on the Thethis, loaded with 6,000 tonnes of iron, broke out at 4 a.m. (2 a.m. Irish time) and that the ship was still on fire 12 hours later, but without causing interference to canal traffic.
The cause of the blaze was unknown, along with the fate of the crew.
The ship had been stranded in the waiting area since the end of 2001, pending its sale on behalf of the canal authority under a court order, the officials said.
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The ship owners owed money for maintenance work carried out after its arrival in the canal, they said.
AFP