Stranded in the Six-Day War
By Cath Senker
2017
First Published
3.88
Average Rating
192
Number of Pages
In June 1967, at the outbreak of the Six-Day War, 14 merchant ships were passing through the Suez Canal. As hostilities erupted, they were ordered to halt in the Great Bitter Lake. Although the war was brief, after it finished, the Egyptian government refused the ships permission to leave. Those ships were stranded in the Suez Canal for a full eight years, until June 1975. Over the period, 3,000 seafarers served on the trapped ships in the middle of a war zone, maintaining the vessels and protecting their precious cargos. Despite coming from countries on opposing sides of the Cold War, the crews forged a strong community, exchanging supplies and skills and coordinating their social and sports activities through the Great Bitter Lake Association (GBLA). This book tells the extraordinary story, through the eyes of some of the stranded seafarers.
Avg Rating
3.88
Number of Ratings
50
5 STARS
32%
4 STARS
36%
3 STARS
22%
2 STARS
8%
1 STARS
2%
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