MV ''Dubai Moon'' was a cargo ship which sank on (or soon after) May 21, 2010 due to strong waves caused by a tropical storm. The ship was carrying vehicles in the Gulf of Aden when she was struck by Cyclone Bandu, which pushed it off the track. The ship sent a distress call which was picked by

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

frigate HMS ''Chatham''. 23 crew members were rescued by the

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

helicopter from ''Chatham'' before ''Dubai Moon'' sank. Dubai Moon accidentally became a

Ghost ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a ship, vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, derelict found adrift with its cre ...

in 2023.

Sinking

On May 20, 2010, HMS ''Chatham'' received a radio distress call from the master of MV ''Dubai Moon'', Capt Hassan Madar. Capt Madar reported that his ship, which was transporting vehicles and from ''Chatham'', was caught in the Cyclone Bandu tropical storm and that the deck cargo had shifted causing the vessel to list 20 degrees in the extremely rough seas and winds of 70 mph (113 km/h). At that time, the

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

nian- registered ''Dubai Moon'' was being blown towards the island of

Abd al Kuri Abd al Kuri () is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel. As a part of the Socotra Archipelago Governorate of Yemen, it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the main island of Socotra. Its terrain primarily consists of granite and di ...

in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

and there were fears that it would run aground on the island. Efforts to alter the ship's course caused it to list further and risked capsizing it. ''Chatham'' set course for the ship. ''Dubai Moon'' missed the island and dropped her anchors early on 21 May to try to stop as she was approaching the island of Jazirat Samhah. Although the anchors did not hold they prevented the ship from hitting a reef. Weather conditions improved during the day so that ''Chatham'' was able to launch her helicopter to rescue the entire crew of 23 over a period of three hours, and the ship sank after the rescue. In an interview following his rescue, Captain Madar explained that his ship had been operating further out to sea than normal to avoid Somalian pirates, and was consequently unable to seek shelter in the storm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubai Moon Shipwrecks in the Red Sea Maritime incidents in 2010 Cargo ships of Panama 1978 ships