Never got round to reading Stranded in the Suez Canal? Don’t worry – here’s the short version. Bombers overhead Aboard the Agapenor, Suez Canal, 5 June 1967 09.00: Peter Flack, serving as third mate on the Blue Funnel cargo ship Agapenor, was up on deck. He can vividly remember the outbreak of hostilities to this …
On 23 March, strong gusts of wind drove the giant Ever Given completely off course as it passed through the Suez Canal. A sandstorm created poor visibility, affecting navigation. The vessel ran aground, its vast bulk horizontally wedged across the narrow waterway. The 400-m long, 224,000-tonne Ever Given is one of the largest container ships …
The Suez Canal: from the 1967 war to the Ever Given Read More »
When I came across the story of the ships stranded in the Suez Canal for 8 years, I felt that this little-known story of international solidarity should be better known. Now I believe it is. I’d like to draw your attention to a range of materials. Many people have helped to give a place in …
During the lockdown, readers have been looking for titles that reflect their experiences. I’ve had a small flurry of interest in Stranded in the Six-Day War. People see some similarity between being marooned on a ship because of the external dangers and being cooped up in their homes to avoid Covid-19 infection. Derek Kelly One …
Twice this month, I’ll be giving an illustrated talk. It’s about the merchant ships that became trapped in the Suez Canal during the Six-Day War in 1967. University of Brighton I’ll be at the University of Brighton on 5 February 5.30 – 7pm Room G4, Grand Parade. It is part of the seminar series for …
When US philatelist Eric Carlson found an unusual stamp on EBay, he ‘stumbled upon the remnants of a forgotten bit of world history, about a stranded convoy that built a community at the center of a war.’ Eric had discovered the Great Bitter Lake Association. New podcast 99% Invisible in the USA have produced an …
Since I wrote Stranded in the Six-Day War, people from around the world have been getting in touch with me. They tell me about their activities to keep alive the story of the ships stranded in the Suez Canal for eight years. The GBLA Last week, Peter Valdner sent a photo of the annual gathering …
There’s going to be a documentary about the 14 ships stranded in the Suez Canal during the Six-Day War. I Catch Productions I Catch Productions are making the film for Al Jazeera. They are currently in the UK interviewing former seafarers who lived through the experience of being marooned on the merchant ships as war …
Every year, Siegfried Hellwig organises a reunion of seafarers who worked on the German ship Nordwind – one of the ships that was marooned in the Great Bitter Lake for 8 years. Günter Schütt kindly sent me a photo of the gathering in Olberg.