SS ''Melika'' was a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n-registered cargo vessel, which was involved in a collision with the French-registered ''Fernand Gilabert'' off the coast of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on 13 September 1958, causing a major maritime disaster. Fire broke out on both ships and there were 21 fatalities. ''Melika'' was abandoned but, as her engines were not stopped, she proceeded under her own power on auto-pilot for before being sighted by aircraft. A salvage party from then went on board. Subsequently, towed ''Melika'' to

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

, where 20,000 tons of her cargo was discharged into a

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

tanker.

845 Naval Air Squadron 845 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Part of the Commando Helicopter Force, it is a specialist amphibious unit operating the AgustaWestland Commando Merlin HC4 helicopter and provides troop transport and load ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

were awarded the

Boyd Trophy The Boyd Trophy is a silver model of a Fairey Swordfish, which was presented by the Fairey Aviation Company Limited in 1946, in commemoration of the work for Naval Aviation of Admiral Sir Denis Boyd, , RN. It is awarded annually to the naval p ...

for their participation in the salvage of ''Melika''.

References

Maritime incidents in 1958 Merchant ships of Liberia Steamships of Liberia {{Merchantship-stub