A Tragedy in the Red Sea: Al Salam 98

Abstract

The case tells the tragic story of Al-Salam 98 Ferry as it sailed from the Saudi port of Duba on its way to the Egyptian port of Safaga on 2nd February 2006. A fire broke out in the garage area, where the cars were being shipped from Saudi Arabia to Egypt are parked in the lower structure of the ferry. The crew, thinking that they have successfully put out the fire, open the garage doors, only to find that the fire has picked up. A series of failures on the part of the ferry Captain leads to the eventual sinking of the ferry, after a four hour ordeal during which the passengers and crew could have been saved had help been called for earlier. Further failures by the operating company’s executives result in a belated rescue operation at least 10 hours after the ferry sunk to the bottom of the Red Sea, 80 kilometers off the eastern coast of Egypt. The incident resulted in the loss of 1129 lives.

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

2024 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Resources

Appendix A: Images

Al-Salam 98 before setting sail

A photo shows the ship Al-Salam 98 moored to the harbor. Back view of two men standing at the harbor are visible.

The addition to the ferry’s superstructure

A photo shows a ferry in the sea. The upper part of it is circled out. An arrow points to this encircled part.

In the map, the location where the ferry sinks 80 km off the coast of Egypt is marked out. The countries marked in the map include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Jordan. The cities marked include Safaga, Cairo, Luxor, and Dubah. Marked water bodies include Mediterranean sea, Red Sea, and Suez. An inset on the botom left shows the the location where the ferry sinks. A scale in miles appears below the inset.

The ferry sinks just 80 km off the coast of Egypt

A map shows the location where the ferry sinks off the coast of Egypt.

Divers pull dead bodies from the waters of the Red Sea

A photo shows divers on boats pulling dead bodies from the sea. A few divers are wearing masks.

The dead float among the debris

A photo shows dead bodies and debris floating on the sea.

The photos in the collage are as follows:

At the top left is a photo showing a close-up view of a Muslim woman crying with open arms. She is wearing a hijab and two badges with writings in Urdu on them. A crowd gathered behind her appears in the background. One person is holding few posters of a victim.

At the top right is a photo showing a close-up view of a person crying, partially covering his face with his hands. The crowd gathered behind him is holding posters of the victims and writings in Urdu on them. One of them is taking a photo with his cellphone.

At the bottom is a photo showing two Muslim females crying, one holding the photo of a victim and the other holding a framed photo of the victims. The background shows a poster written in Urdu script, a person recording a video, and a crowd gathered behind them.

Anger outside the court room after the initial ruling

A collage of photos depicting protests.

All Images have been obtained through Google images.

Appendix B: Table Summarizing Compensation for Deceased Person

Compensation decreed by Mubarak

5,200 USD

Compensation set by Attorney General (This is what was paid)

43,000 USD

Compensation set by International Law

300,000 USD

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

2024 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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