Jordan has detained cargo ship Lotus (IMO 8920153), which arrived from Egypt. The vessel was detained on Tuesday September 13th after it strayed close to a natural coral reef reserve near the beach of the Red Sea port of Aqaba, port officials said.

Any possible environmental damage caused by the drifting of the vessel away from its route and into shallow waters near the 7km-long marine reserve was being assessed, they said.

“Its route has been corrected and it has been towed to the pier and is safe,” a port official told Reuters, adding that the ship was banned from leaving the port pending an investigation into why it strayed from its route and any damage caused.

The cargo vessel apparently had arrived earlier on Tuesday September 13th to load a shipment of potash from the city’s fertilizer pier

1990-built, Palau-flagged, 7,388 gt Lotus is owned by East Sea Navigation Co care of Sea Gate Management Co SA of Suez, Egypt.

Source: https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/jordan-detains-cargo-vessel-that-strayed-near-aqabas-coral-reef-beach/