meter-long cargo ship carrying rice, owned by an Iraqi national, is still tangled in the coral reefs that it hit on Saturday in the Kingdom's territorial waters in the Red Sea, said Abdul Razzaq Madani, member of the Maritime Transport and Services Committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). Insurance companies will have to pay for the damaged rice on the ship Jumana, he said. “There is an opening in the hull of the ship and plans are being prepared to float the ship once it has been unloaded of its cargo,” he said. The unloading period will not exceed three days as soon as the plan to float it has been approved and carried out, he added. Unfavorable wind and weather conditions could make it more difficult to rescue the tangled ship. He further said that the ship probably entered the coral reefs area because of strong winds steering its direction in the sea. As to the cost for rescuing the ship and repairing it, he said, “It is the responsibility of the insurance companies to coordinate with the owner.” The proximity of the area where the ship ran aground will reduce the costs. Informed sources said that several shipping agents refused to cooperate by sending their ships to unload the rice from Jumanah. They pointed out that their fleets are tied up by contracts at present. In a related development, Husein Al-Qahtani, Official Spokesman of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection said that they are not responsible for specifying sea routes, acquitting the presidency of any cause that might have contributed to drifting the ship to the coral reefs area – Okaz __
