AMMAN — The shell of a Turkish ship seized by the courts
in Aqaba 10 years ago following a suspicious onboard fire and court case has
been removed from the dockside and sold for scrap by the Aqaba Ports Operation
and Management company.
اضافة اعلان
The ship threatened general safety and the marine
life and the environment in the port area, according to a report from Al-Ghad news.
Marine officials and environmental specialists called for the speedy removal of
the vessel to mitigate risk on marine security and safety, as well as to
maintain the port’s global reputation.
The ship, after necessary maintenance work, was towed by Aqaba
Port tugboats out into open water within Jordanian territorial waters in
preparation of having it towed away to Egypt, according to Khaled Al-Mayatah,
director general of the Aqaba Ports Operation and Management company.
A fire had engulfed the vessel in 2004, while it was anchored
700 meters from the dock at the port. Suspicion for the fire at the time fell
on her crew of eight, all Turkish nationals.
Port employees said they had overheard the crew threaten the
vessel’s owner that they would set fire to the ship if they weren’t paid three-months-worth
of back salary.
The ship had arrived in
Aqaba in April 2004 and unloaded its
cargo, but Aqaba ports authorities refused to allow the ship to leave unless
they repair the vessel’s engine first, and as a result the ship was stuck at
the port.
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