MV ''Shelly'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

that was built in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

in 1973. She sank off the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 2007 after the

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

rammed her and broke her in two. Two of ''Shelly''s crew were killed.

Ship

The Ivan Dimitrov shipyard on the River

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

in Ruse, Bulgaria built the ship and launched her in 1973 as ''Zlatograd''. She changed hands in 1999 and was renamed ''Loti''. She changed hands again in 2002 and was renamed ''Dora''. In 2003 Israeli owners bought her, renamed her ''Shelly'' and registered her in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. She was crewed not by Israelis but by other nationalities, mainly Slovaks and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

Collision and sinking

On 30 August 2007, ''Shelly'' was at anchor about off Israeli coast, near the

port of Haifa The Port of Haifa ( he, נמל חיפה) is the largest of Israel's three major international seaports, the others being the Port of Ashdod, and the Port of Eilat. It has a natural deep-water harbor, which operates all year long, and serves both pa ...

, when at about 10pm she was accidentally rammed by the

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

passenger ship ''Salamis Glory'', which had left port at Haifa several minutes before. ''Shelly'' sank quickly after the collision, which the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...

said broke her in half. 11 crew members escaped, and most climbed aboard a rescue launch lowered by ''Salamis Glory'' and were subsequently rescued by the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

. The rest were rescued by helicopter. The survivors refused to be taken to a local hospital for treatment. ''Salamis Glory'' subsequently returned to port in Haifa, showing slight damage to her hull. None of ''Salamis Glory''s 700 or so passengers and crew was injured. The remaining two crew members were declared missing, prompting a search and rescue operation involving six naval vessels, multiple aircraft and divers. 12 hours after the sinking their bodies were recovered from the wreck by divers in of water. The dead were identified as the ship's

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n First Mate and Ukrainian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. The vessel's sinking released an

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

that moved down the coast, causing authorities to warn the public not to bathe at the nearby Zevulun beach. On 31 August Salamis Lines, owners of ''Salamis Glory'', arranged for 148 stranded Cypriot passengers from the ship to be flown back to Cyprus on a

Cyprus Airways Cyprus Airways (Greek: Κυπριακές Αερογραμμές) is the flag carrier airline of Cyprus, based at Larnaca International Airport. It commenced operations on 1 June 2017. History Cyprus Airways resumed operations in 2016 after win ...

jet.

Investigation

Israeli Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

launched a full investigation into the cause of the accident, aided by Cypriot authorities. All of ''Salamis Glory''s crew were interviewed. One possibility being considered was that there was a fault in the ship's navigation system, with some reports of a loss of steering control aboard ''Salamis Glory''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelly 2007 in Israel Maritime incidents in 2007 Maritime incidents in Israel Oil spills in Asia Ships of Bulgaria Ships of Israel Ships of Slovakia Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Ships built in Bulgaria Oil spills in international waters 2007 disasters in Israel