Israel’s Coastal Maritime Station here was instrumental today in obtaining Egyptian help for a French ship stranded in Egyptian waters — but without direct Egyptian cooperation with Israel.
The duty officer at the Israeli station picked up an SOS this morning from a French vessel stranded in Egyptian waters between Alexandria and Port Said. Contacting the ship, and noting that no Egyptian station had as yet heard the SOS, the Israeli officer transmitted the message directly to Alexandria. When the Egyptian officer in Alexandria asked for the sender’s identification, and was told “Haifa, Israel,” he broke the connection.
The Israeli then contacted the coast guard station at Cyprus, which relayed the call to Alexandria. Later, Cyprus informed Israel that the Egyptians had received the Israeli report and were sending a ship to aid the French vessel.
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