The MV ''Dara'' was a
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
-based
passenger liner
A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...
, built in 1948 by
Barclay, Curle & Co. Ltd., a shipyard in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland.
The , four-decked vessel travelled mostly between the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
and the Indian subcontinent, carrying
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
passengers who were employed in the
nations of the Gulf.
''Dara'' sank in the Persian Gulf on 8 April 1961, as a result of a powerful explosion that caused the deaths of 238 of the 819 people on board at the time, including 19 officers and 113 crew.
Another 565 people were rescued during an operation by a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
tank landing craft
The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or Tank Landing Craft TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...
, a number of ships of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, and several British and foreign
merchant ships
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...
.
Sinking
The vessel had sailed from
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
on 23 May, on a round trip to
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
, calling at intermediate ports. ''Dara'' arrived at
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
on 7 April and was unloading cargo, embarking and disembarking passengers when the wind picked up; it quickly reached
force seven and prevented further work. The ''Dara'' was hit by another boat which had dragged its anchor in the bad weather and Captain Elson decided to take the ship out of harbour to ride out the storm.
[ Due to the conditions there had been no opportunity to disembark those people on board who did not intend to travel, including relatives and friends seeing off passengers, cargo handlers and various shipping and immigration officials.]
At approximately 04.30 on 8 April 1961, a large explosion struck the port side of the engine casing between decks, passing through the engine bulkhead and two upper decks, including the main lounge. The explosion occurred as ''Dara'' was returning to the harbour and it started a series of large fires. The explosion affected all electrical, fire-water and steering systems, and the fire spread rapidly, aided by the wind. The captain ordered the evacuation of the ship.
Launching the lifeboats
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
A ...
was chaotic in the rough seas; one witness described an overcrowded lifeboat overturning due to the height of the waves. A second lifeboat which had been damaged earlier during the storm was intercepted by the lifeboat of a Norwegian tanker.There were several ships nearby and aid was given by British, German and Japanese vessels in the vicinity, as well as boats travelling from Dubai, Sharjah
Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
Sharjah is the capital o ...
, Ajman
Ajman ( ar, عجمان, '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ʿymān) is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is ...
and Umm Al Qawain
Umm Al Quwain is the capital and largest city of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates.
The city is located on the peninsula of Khor Al Bidiyah, with the nearest major cities being Sharjah to the southwest and Ras Al Khaimah ...
.
A nearly completed hotel building in Dubai was taken over as a reception centre for the injured, many of whom were suffering from burns, exposure and wounds from flying metal shards. The tide of injured people overwhelmed Al Maktoum Hospital and field stations were opened at Sheikh Rashid's Customs House office block.
In the days following, three British frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s and a US destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
sent parties on board the ''Dara'' to extinguish the fires and the vessel was then taken in tow by the Glasgow salvage vessel ''Ocean Salvor'', but she sank at 09.20 on 10 April 1961.
Possible cause of explosion
The explosion is believed to have been caused by a deliberately placed explosive device, planted by an Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
i rebel group or individual insurgents. A British Admiralty court
Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences.
Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales
Scotland
The Scottish court's earliest ...
concluded, more than a year after the disaster, that an anti-tank mine, "deliberately placed by a person or persons unknown", had "almost certainly" caused the explosion. British Solicitor General Sir John Hobson, testifying before the court, said that fighters in the Dhofar Rebellion
The Dhofar Rebellion, also known as the Dhofar War or the Omani Civil War, was waged from 1963 to 1976 in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The war began with the formation of the Dhofar Liberation Front, a group ...
were likely to be responsible, having previously sabotaged British assets. However, no forensic evidence has ever been provided to prove that a bomb was the cause.
Wreck
The wreck sits at a depth of .
References
External links
*
* (with photo) Warning this website appears to have been hijacked
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dara
Maritime incidents in 1961
Ship bombings
Shipwrecks in the Persian Gulf
1947 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
Passenger ships
Acts of sabotage