The yellow fleet

As Nasser's 'Free Officers' fought the Six Day War with Israel the Suez ground to a halt. Researching the war, I stumbled across a story about the mysterious Yellow Fleet. Fascinated, I took off on a tangent to discover more about the 14 ships stranded in the Great Bitter Lakes of the Suez Canal.

The container ships were mid-way through their passage to the Mediterranean when the war broke out. From 1967 to 1975, while the Canal remained closed, the ships are said to have yellowed due to the settling sand whipped up and delivered on the wind from the surrounding desert.

I would love to hear accounts from those who witnessed this strange sight, and those who stayed on the ships thinking the stay might end 'any day' or to service them and keep their cargo secure.

The story raises many other issues and would be an interesting point from which to explore the impact Egypt's geographical position has on political relations. It highlights the Middle East's location at the 'middle' of the world as crucial to understanding its development and current conundrum.

I ask anyone with a story about the Yellow Fleet to contact me at ar@thedisputandum.com.