Sinking of the Sea Legend in the Red Sea

Tragic fire leads to the sinking of the Sea Legend in the Red Sea

Due to a cable fire, the Sea Legend, a diving boat operated by Dive Pro Liveaboard, caught fire on 23 February and caught fire. The vessel sank as a result. The incident happened at night during a diving trip about 3 kilometres from the coast. A German diver is missing. However, Egypt claims that all divers on board were rescued. The crew is reportedly currently in custody.

Officially, we received the following message: "Despite the impending disaster, all persons on board the Sea Legend were rescued unharmed. At the time of the incident, 17 tourists from various countries and a crew of 14 were on board the ship." "All 31 people on board the Sea Legend have been confirmed safe"; another source told Cairo 24 newspaper, emphasising the efficiency of the rescue operations. However, we have received information that a German diver is missing. This information has been confirmed several times and is unfortunately a fact.

Following the sinking of the Sea Legend, the responsible authorities in the Red Sea have formed an environmental committee. Its task is to assess the impact of the accident on the Marahani reefs as of today. The committee is to assess the extent of the damage and its value and prepare an environmental report. This report will probably play a decisive role in court proceedings and in determining appropriate compensation for the affected area.

The current investigation is focussed on determining the cause of the fire and preventing future incidents. The current state of affairs is that a cable fire was the cause of the accident.

Conversation with a fellow traveller

We spoke to Jake, a fellow traveller, and he spoke in detail about the trip and the night of the accident. The trip was booked through PADI and liveaboard.com. Jake reported that everything went well from Sunday to the night of the accident. The supervision of the dives was very good and the group enjoyed beautiful dives from Sunday to Thursday in the Red Sea. On the night of 23 February at around 3.30am, Jake woke up to smoke in his cabin and realised that "something was wrong". He grabbed his mobile phone and quickly put on a pair of trousers and went upstairs from his cabin. The smoke was getting thicker and he could see flames coming out of various openings on deck - the ship was probably on the verge of catching fire.

The following minutes were probably characterised by chaos and the passengers had to rescue themselves with 2 inflatable boats. Life jackets or other aids were either not available or not within reach. According to Jake, the situation was very frightening and totally confusing: "Somehow we made it to the deck and then into the water and to the boats where we had to spend the next few hours. One Zodiac's engine wasn't working and the other boat had to tow the second boat in addition to being fully occupied. All in all, an incredibly frightening situation in which we received no help from the crew. The fact that a passenger was missing was completely unclear at the time. Not long after we had somehow managed to rescue ourselves from the ship and were able to tow the two Zodias away from the scene of the accident, we heard two explosions. So it was really close. It is incredibly sad to hear that a fellow traveller is missing. Something like this must never happen again."

Increased number of maritime accidents?

The increasing frequency of marine accidents in Egypt, highlighted by the alarming number of multiple incidents in the last year alone, raises serious concerns about safety standards and protocols in the region's maritime and diving industry. These incidents not only pose a significant risk to human life, but also threaten the fragile marine ecosystems of the Red Sea.

Looking ahead to 2024, the question is: how many more such accidents will there be? It is imperative that authorities, operators and stakeholders step up their efforts to improve safety measures, conduct rigorous inspections and promote a culture of safety to minimise the risk of future accidents. The tragic sinking of the M/Y Sea Legend unfortunately reminds us once again of the consequences of neglecting these crucial aspects and emphasises the urgent need for action to prevent further accidents.

Bachelor thesis: Marine accidents and prevention

Following the capsizing of the liveaboard vessel Carlton Queen in Egypt on 25 April 2023, a number of activities were launched to get to the bottom of the causes of such accidents. One of these measures is a bachelor's thesis entitled "Investigation of a series of accidents involving yachts for diving holidays", which was written between June and November 2023 by Justus Schiszler at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences in the Shipbuilding and Maritime Technology degree programme. In the study, accidents involving liveaboard vessels since 2006 were recorded and grouped according to the presumed causes of the accidents.

More information:
News item: Marine accidents and prevention