MV ''Dubai Moon'' was a cargo ship which sank on (or soon after) May 21, 2010 due to strong waves caused by a tropical storm. The ship was carrying vehicles in the Gulf of Aden when she was struck by Cyclone Bandu, which pushed it off the track. The ship sent a distress call which was picked by
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 ...
frigate HMS ''Chatham''. 23 crew members were rescued by the
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led t ...
helicopter from ''Chatham'' before ''Dubai Moon'' sank.
Sinking
On May 20, 2010, HMS ''Chatham'' received a radio distress call from the master of MV ''Dubai Moon'', Capt Hassan Madar. Capt Madar reported that his ship, which was transporting vehicles and from ''Chatham'', was caught in the Cyclone Bandu tropical storm and that the deck cargo had shifted causing the vessel to list 20 degrees in the extremely rough seas and winds of 70 mph (113 km/h).
At that time, the
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
nian- registered ''Dubai Moon'' was being blown towards the island of
Abd al Kuri
Abd al Kuri ( ar, عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel. As a part of the Socotra Archipelago of the Socotra Governorate of Yemen, it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the island of Socotra. in the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
and there were fears that it would run aground on the island. Efforts to alter the ship's course caused it to list further and risked capsizing it. ''Chatham'' set course for the ship.
''Dubai Moon'' missed the island and dropped her anchors early on 21 May to try to stop as she was approaching the island of Jazirat Samhah. Although the anchors did not hold they prevented the ship from hitting a reef.
Weather conditions improved during the day so that ''Chatham'' was able to launch her helicopter to rescue the entire crew of 23 over a period of three hours, and the ship sank after the rescue. In an interview following his rescue, Captain Madar explained that his ship had been operating further out to sea than normal to avoid Somalian pirates, and was consequently unable to seek shelter in the storm.