Egyptian Killed By US Military Ship – Suez Canal
March 24, 2008 by national
Filed under World Report
The Global Patriot, carrying used US military equipment, was in the Gulf of Suez when it was approached by a motorboat selling local merchandise.
Its crew apparently fired after the boat, killing one Egyptian and wounding two others when it failed to heed warnings to stop when asked, the US navy said.
The ship, Global Patriot, had arrived from the Red Sea and was waiting in the Gulf of Suez to sail to the Mediterranean when a group of Egyptians seeking to sell merchandise approached the boat on small barges, the source said.
Americans on board told the barges to stop and opened fire when they continued to approach.
Several of the small barges that usually ply their trade in small goods on the canal gathered in protest immediately after the shooting but then dispersed, leaving the Suez waterway clear for traffic.
According to the website of the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command, the MV Global Patriot is a roll-on roll-off transport ship chartered from Global Container Lines.
An undated photograph of the ship on the company’s website shows it without military markings.
The security source said that the ship was expected to cross the Suez Canal as planned at 6:00 am (11am Singapore time) on Tuesday.
The US embassy in Cairo was not immediately available for comment on the incident.
The Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, is Egypt’s third-largest source of revenue after tourism and remittances from expatriate workers and currently about 7.5 per cent of global trade passes through the waterway.
It is also a key route for the US military to carry weapons, supplies and troops to and from the Gulf, in particular Kuwait and Iraq.
(Correction to my earlier comment)
It is sad that lives were lost, but, in the current world situation, chances of another USS Cole cannot be taken.
News of this type of action should spread and perhaps will continue to thwart future attacks planned by radicals.
A few non-leatal rounds of gun fire would probably have done the job, but now we can add one more group of people to the watch list. If they weren’t mad before, they are now. Attacks similar to the one against the USS Cole should be prevented. But this is like shoting a pan handler for approaching to ask for change. I wouldnt have to kill him to make him keep his distance. I dont like to punish soldiers or professional soldiers for what happens at work, but this doesnt sound like a high pressure situation to me. We should expect a response from some one in the area of the canal.
I was in Aden the day before the USS Cole was attacked in command of a 150ft yacht I understand edgy and I was transitting the Red Sea when the Iraq war broke out with the same yacht.
correction:
to last sentence of my comment. Restraint should have been shown at that end of the Red Sea. Once in Suez Rds you are home free. I have had security teams ride the Suez and Red Sea transit on board and they are always jumpy if they have never beeen in that enviroment before. I have and as master I am jumpy.
The southern end of the Red Sea is the dangerous part and I would shoot in the Gulf of Aden if a small boat was approaching not in Suez.