The Chinese Version

According to the Chinese Communist Party media outlets, the cargo ship Zhongyuan Yazhou has been rescued by the Egyptian navy after it was attacked in the Suez Canal

Muslim Brotherhood hijacks Chinese vessel in Suez Canal

A 110,000-tonne Chinese cargo ship, the Zhongyuan Yazhou, has been rescued by the Egyptian navy after it was attacked in the Suez Canal, according to the Global Times, a tabloid under the auspices of the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

According to Al Gomhuriya, a Cairo-based paper, the Chinese vessel was attacked by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that supports former president Mohamed Morsi and which has been the target of an army-led crackdown since Morsi’s ouster in July.

The incident took place on Aug. 31 when two explosions were seen aboard the ship. It was first believed to be a terror attack, but Major General Ossama Asskar, the commander of the Egyptian Third Field Army, initially denied the claims, saying the explosions may have been due to an electrical short.

Asskar said the Egyptian navy and the Suez Canal Authority were mobilized for the rescue operation.

Admiral Mohab Mameesh, head of the Suez Canal Authority, confirmed on Sept. 1 that the Zhongyuan Yazhou had been attacked and hijacked by local rebels.

The Chinese embassy in Egypt told the Global Times that the Zhongyuan Yazhou had escaped the attack without damage and without casualties, adding that the ship had begun its voyage to the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 31.

The Zhongyuan Yazhou is the first vessel in Asia with the capability to carry 100,051 containers. The cost of the ship is estimated at around US$162 million.

Source: Want China Times