MV Salem Express

26°38′22.02″N 34°3′39.9″E / 26.6394500°N 34.061083°E / 26.6394500; 34.061083

MS Fred Scamaroni in Marseille
History
Name
  • 1966–1980: Fred Scamaroni
  • 1980–1981: Nuits Saint Georges
  • 1981–1984: Lord Sinai
  • 1984–1988: Al Tahra
  • 1988–1991: Salem Express
Owner
Operator
  • 1966–1969: Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
  • 1969–1976: CGTM
  • 1976–1979: SNCM
  • 1980: Dunkerque Ramsgate Ferries
  • 1981–1988: Lord Maritime Enterprise
  • 1988-1991: Samatour Lines
Port of registry
Ordered15 January 1963
BuilderForges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne Sur Mer,  France
Yard number1368
Laid downJune 1963
Launched30 November 1964
Acquired13 May 1966
Maiden voyage14 June 1966
In service1966–1991
Out of service15 December 1991
Identification
FateRan aground, 15 Dec 1991, sinking with the reported loss of 470 passengers and crew
General characteristics
TypeFerry
Tonnage4,771 GT
Length115 m (377 ft 4 in)
Beam17.83 m (58 ft 6 in)
Draught4.78 m (15 ft 8 in)
Installed power
PropulsionTwo shafts; controllable pitch propellers
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity
  • 1,256 passengers
  • 428 passenger beds
  • 145 vehicles
Crew63

MV Salem Express was a passenger ship that sank in the Red Sea. It is notable due to the heavy loss of life which occurred when she sank shortly after striking a reef at around 11:13pm on December 14, 1991. Salem Express was a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry which operated for 25 years, with many different owners, names and regular routes at that time.

The ship was originally named Fred Scamaroni, a World War II French resistance member who was captured and tortured, killing himself in his cell without revealing his mission. Construction began in June 1963. In November 1964 she was launched and towed to Port-de-Bouc for completion, being finally delivered in June 1965 to the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Marseille, France.

A fire in her engine room delayed her maiden voyage on June 26, 1966. In June 1966 she began operating on her first route between Marseille and Ajaccio. In January 1967, she collided with the Ajaccio quay; and in April 1970 a fire broke out on the way to Bastia. While operating the Dunkirk – Ramsgate route in 1980, she ran aground, and on another occasion caused a traffic jam due to slow truck loading.

In 1988 she was sold to Samatour Shipping Company, Suez, Egypt, and renamed Salem Express; her scheduled route was between Suez and Jeddah.

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