A Sudanese vessel carrying 15,800 sheep onboard sank over the weekend after departing for Jeddah from the Osman Digna Port at Suakin, on the Red Sea coast with officials blaming overloading, reports say.
Badr 1, according to reports, was carrying 507 tons of livestock which sank in the early hours of Saturday. An official at Sudanese port who asked not be named, told NDTV that the load was beyond capacity.
The official reportedly indicated that the ship was supposed to carry only 9,000 sheep.
The livestock on the ship was valued at $4 million. The crew had been rescued, but many of the livestock on board drowned, reports said. The owners of the shipment, according to Saleh Selim, the head of the association’s livestock division, were only able to save around 700 sheeps, The Guardian reports.
Selim has also called for investigation into the incident which is not the first mishap that took place at the harbor which is no longer Sudan’s main foreign trade hub, a role which has been taken by Port Sudan, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) away along the Red Sea coast.
Last month, NDTV notes, a massive fire broke out in the cargo area of Suakin port, lasting hours and causing heavy damages. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, but the findings are to be released.
Thousands of sheep worth $4m to be shipped from Sudan for Saudi Arabia sank
