Navy vessel sinks in Eilat port

Rare navy incident saw water flood patrol boat; seven crew abandoned ship, no injuries reported
Hanan Greenberg

Rare naval incident - A Nahshul type navy boat has sunk Sunday night in Eilat’s harbor after water began penetrating the boat for unknown reasons.

Seven crewmembers were rescued from the boat with no injuries reported. The navy has begun investigating the circumstances of the unusual accident.

The incident began when the boat was security patrol. The Nahshul vehicle is key to the navy’s patrols of the Red Sea are. It was designed in South Africa according to the needs of the navy, and joined the Dvorim type navy fleet, which patrols the southern coast.

The ship is a small vessel made up of simpler combat weapons than those possessed by the Davor.

From first reports of the accident, it has emerged that the crew noticed a large amount of water flooding the vessel, and decided to abandon ship.

Seven crewmembers, headed by an officer, jumped into the water, and another boat mobilized to the area collected the men, who were not injured.

A second navy boat has towed the damaged vessel to shore, and an analysis is being carried out to determine the cause of the incident.