A cargo ship sank after Hamriya Port was lashed by high waves at noontime yesterday causing vessels to lose their moorings and slam into each other.
One of the six sailors on board the sunken vessel suffered a minor leg fracture, said Major General Sharafuddin Al Sayed Sharaf, Assistant Dubai Police Chief for Criminal Investigation. The dhow, which was carrying some cars, iron and wood was preparing to sail for Iran when it was struck.
The high waves, according to Maj. Gen. Sharafudin, lasted for a few minutes and occurred as a result of the weather conditions.
He said a team from the Rescue Unit of Dubai Police rushed to the scene and rescued the six sailors from the sinking vessel. The injured sailor was rushed to the hospital. "The whole episode was very sudden and took only three minutes," he said.
Khalifa Sultan Bin Suleiman, Director of Hamriya Port, said the incident did not affect navigation traffic in the port. "Everything is back to normal and ships are coming in or sailing away," he said.
Speaking to Gulf News, Kathim, a weathered captain on board of one of the vessels, said: "I have never seen anything like it before. First the tide ebbed and then it suddenly surged. The waves were really high and it stayed like that for more than 20 minutes."
"Afrah", a cargo ship flying a South Korean flag, was one of the vessels that sustained damage to its body. It was berthed on quay and was hit by other vessels when the tide occurred.
One of the sailors on board told Gulf News: "It was very sudden. The tide just rose and after 30 minutes it ebbed. Other vessels, which lost their moorings, hit us forcing our ship to slam into the quay," he said.
He was afraid that they had lost their cargo of crockery, destined for Iran, when the ship was rocked. He said it will take them at least a week to fix the damage to the vessel.
Gulf News spoke to a meteorologist who said that she was not sure what the phenomena was, but, from the sailors description, thinks that it was a "tidal surge".
Tidal surge or storm surge is an abnormal rise of sea level along a shore, primarily resulting from the winds of a storm.
Because of the storm or showers, changes in pressure may cause a rise in the sea level. However, she said if the tide was associated with pressure, it would not drop. It would rise and go back to equilibrium.
The rescue team is working on a plan to fish out the cars so that they can float the vessel.
The team led by First Lieutenant Tahnoun Humaid Abdullah and First Lieutenant Ali Abdullah Al Naqbi will start the salvage operation today. Some 18 frogmen from the team will take part in the operation.
Gulf News 2003
