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 |
| Name | Image | Nationality | Owner | Captain | Cargo | Tonnage | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS Nordwind | West Germany | T-shirts | [2] | ||||
| MS Münsterland | 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] |
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]
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]
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.
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 |
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.