2003 has been a year when a number of different vessels came to grief on Wingate Reef which is located near Port Sudan. in April 2003 there was the loss of the Hassanein, a small ship of the 618grt, which developed a leak and sank. A few weeks later, another ship, the Madad, ran aground and remains high and dry on top of the reef. In July, the Annie Sierra out of Limassol also ran aground although she was refloated some weeks later.

The latest wreck, however, is something very different altogether. The SS Jassim was a passenger/cargo ferry of 2312grt built in Norway and launched in 1961. Her dimensions are 80.64m x 15m with a draught of 9.3m. More recently she became one of the many ships laid up at the Wingate Reef anchorage and it was here that she sank on the night of 1 December 2003.

Maybe this wreck can be moved later times into deeper water. For the moment, however, the Sudanese legal system is trying to determine blame for the sinking of the ship. Definitely an exciting new wreck for the near future.