The Egyptian Red Sea dive liveaboard Golden Dolphin III has been destroyed by fire while moored off Hurghada in the early hours of 21 January.
The blaze is reported to have spread rapidly, leaving the boat a total loss. There were no passengers on board at the time, and no injuries to any crewmembers were reported.
The vessel was not active at the time of the incident and was stationary at its designated mooring, with its next trip not scheduled to depart until 24 January.
In a statement issued following the incident, the operator said: ‘As you may already know from other sources, we lost the Golden Dolphin III due to a fire. We are all deeply shocked and unable to comprehend it.
‘Thankfully, the crew is safe and no one was injured. We cannot yet provide any information regarding the cause of the fire. The authorities are conducting their investigations. We will inform you about current bookings in the coming days.’
Golden Dolphin III was one of four vessels operated by the well-regarded Golden Dolphin Safari World liveaboard fleet, a long-established company founded in 1998 which offers a range of Red Sea itineraries from Hurghada and Port Ghalib.
Built in 2008, the 40m timber-hulled liveaboard could accommodate up to 20 guests in 10 double cabins. Its next scheduled trip, a week-long itinerary to the Daedalus and Fury Shoals area, had been due to depart on 24 January.
CDWS said an official investigation had been launched to establish the circumstances and cause of the fire.
