Popular liveaboard Emperor Seven Seas has been destroyed by fire in Port Ghalib marina. All passengers and crew have been safely evacuated.
Emperor Divers released a statement shortly after the fire was first reported:
‘In the early hours of Thursday, March 13th, Emperor Seven Seas was moored in Port Ghalib when a fire broke out that could unfortunately not be contained.
‘Emperor Divers are very grateful to our dedicated and professional crew who, along with the guests onboard, executed emergency procedures which ensured everyone was evacuated from the vessel unharmed.
‘The situation is under control and all clients and crew are safely ashore in Port Ghalib where the Emperor Divers ground team are assisting with their needs.’
The loss of Seven Seas is another blow for the beleaguered Egyptian scuba diving tourism industry, following as it does in the wake of the tragic Sea Story capsizing in November 2024, in which 11 lives were lost.
Emperor Divers is a long-standing, well-established and highly respected dive operator with an exemplary safety record. According to its information page, Seven Seas has a centralised firefighting and alarm system with battery backup and smoke detectors, CO2 monitors, heat and fire alarms throughout the boat, plus both automated and manual fire extinguishers.
Nevertheless, the destruction of Seven Seas marks the ninth Egyptian liveaboard to have been lost since February 2023, and more questions will inevitably be raised over current safety standards in Europe’s favourite scuba diving destination.
This is a breaking news story – more details will be added as they become available.
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