Yellow Fleet

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The Yellow Fleet was the name given to a group of fifteen ships trapped in the Suez Canal (in the Great Bitter Lake section) from 1967 to 1975 as a result of the Six-Day War. Both sides of the canal had been blocked by ships scuttled by the Egyptians.[1] The name Yellow Fleet derived from their yellow appearance as they were increasingly covered in a desert sand swept on board. After eight years the only ships able to leave under their own power were the German ships, Münsterland and Nordwind.

Contents

[edit] Stranded ships

Name Image Nationality Owner Captain Cargo Tonnage References
MS Nordwind Germany West Germany T-shirts [2]
MS Münsterland Germany West Germany
MS Killara  Sweden 10,715 gross [3]
MS Nippon  Sweden
MS Essayons [A 1]  France
MS Agapenor  United Kingdom Blue Funnel Line Plastic toys for Woolworths [4] [5] [6]
MS Melampus  United Kingdom 8509 gross [5] [7]
MS Scottish Star  United Kingdom Captain Brian McManus [4] [5]
MS Port Invercargill  United Kingdom [5]
SS African Glen [A 2]  United States
MS Djakarta  Poland
MS Boleslaw Bierut  Poland
MS Vassil Levsky  Bulgaria
MS Lednice  Czechoslovakia
MS Observer [A 3]  United States [8]

[edit] Trapped

In June 1967 the fifteen ships were sailing northwards through the Suez Canal as a war broke out between Israel and Egypt in what was to become known as the Six-Day War. Both ends of the canal were closed, and after three days it became apparent that the canal would remain blocked for some time as a result of the scuttling of ships to block its passage. The fourteen ships were forced to anchor in the widest part of the Suez Canal, the Great Bitter Lake. Some of the scuttled ships cut off the MS Observer from the other ships and it had to anchor in Lake Timsah.[8]

[edit] Blockage of Canal

A number of ships, dredgers, other floating crafts and even a bridge were sunk to block the canal.[1] As well as vessels that were sunk there were a number of sea mines that prevented navigation. Throughout the eight years the Israeli and Egyptian armies would face off against each other on either side of the Suez Canal. Sometimes raiding parties from both sides would slip across the canal to carry out intelligence gathering missions.[8] One of the big concerns was that the canal would become silted up without regular dredging. However, it turned out to be a non-issue as 90% of the normal silt is a result of currents caused by the turning of ships' propellers, which was virtually non-existent during this period.[8]

[edit] Trapped for eight years

In October 1967 the officers and crews of all fourteen ships met on the Melampus to found the "Great Bitter Lake Association" which would provide mutual support. In the time to come, the crew members regularly met on board their ships, organized social events, founded a yachting club and held the "Bitter Lake Olympic Games" to complement the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Life boat races were arranged and soccer games were played on the largest ship the MS Port Invercargill while church services were held on the West German motorship Nordwind and movies were shown on the Bulgarian freighter Vasil Levsky.[8] The Swedish Killara even had a pool.[2]

In time it was possible to reduce the number of crew members on board the ships, and in 1969 the ships were gathered into several groups to further reduce the number of crew necessary for their upkeep. Those crew that were left to maintain the vessels were rotated every three months. In 1972 the last crew members of the German ships were finally sent home, with the maintenance of the ships left to a Norwegian company.

[edit] Postage System

In time, a postal system evolved, the hand-crafted stamp of which became collectors' items around the world. The Egyptian postal authority recognized the stamps so that they could be used world wide.[8] In terms of the postal system, this resulted in the creation of group stamps such as:

Group Name Abbreviation
”Müwinikies” Mü = MS Münsterland
Wi = MS Nordwind
Ni = MS Nippon
Ki = MS Killara
Es = MS Essayons
”Ledmelaga” Led = MS Lednice
Mel = MS Melampus
Aga = MS Agapenor
”Djabiporst” Dja = MS Djakarta
Bi = MS Boleslaw Bierut
Por = MS Port Invercargill
St = MS Scottish Star

[edit] Cleared canal

In spring 1975 the Suez Canal was once again opened for international transport, and on May 24, 1975, the German ships Münsterland and Nordwind reached Hamburg port, cheered by more than 30,000 spectators. They were reportedly the only ships to have left the canal under their own power. For the Münsterland this was the end of a voyage to Australia which had lasted eight years, three months and five days.

[edit] Annotations

  1. ^ ex Sindh
  2. ^ Sunk in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War
  3. ^ Was stranded in Lake Timsah

[edit] Bibliography

Notes
  1. ^ a b Pearson & Anderson 1975, p. 67
  2. ^ a b Blair 1975
  3. ^ New Zealand Maritime Index 1969
  4. ^ a b BBC 2010
  5. ^ a b c d Lee 2010
  6. ^ Frickers 2009
  7. ^ merchantnavyofficers.com 2011
  8. ^ a b c d e f TIME 1969
References

[edit] External links

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