Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Yellow Fleet

Episode Date: March 18, 2021

In 1967, war broke out between Israel and Egypt. It was the beginning of what would be known as the Six-Day War. As Israeli forces raced across the Siani Peninsula, Egyptian forces took measures to ensure that the Suez Canal wouldn’t be captured. They scuttled ships on either end of the canal to prevent it from being used. Unfortunately, there were ships still in the canal and they got stuck…..for a long time. Learn more about the Yellow Fleet and crews that sailed to nowhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1967, war broke out between Israel and Egypt. It was the beginning of what would be known as the Six-Day War. As Israeli forces raced across the Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian forces took measures to ensure that the Suez Canal wouldn't be captured. They scuttled ships on either end of the canal to prevent it from being used. Unfortunately, there were still ships in the canal that got stuck for a very long time. Learn more about the Yellow Fleet and the crews that sailed to nowhere on this episode. of everything everywhere daily.

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Remember, that is, the Restoration Depot.com. On June 5, 1967, war broke out between Egypt and Israel. The war, the sixth day war, was, as the name suggests, a very short one. In a matter of a few days, Israeli forces had raced across the Sinai Peninsula and were approaching the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal was extremely important for Egypt. With it, they controlled almost all the shipping between Europe and Asia. It gave them geopolitical leverage as well as a great deal of money.

As the Israelis were racing towards the canal, the Egyptians had to make a hard choice. They could either lose control of the canal to their enemies, and everything which came with it, or they could deny the Israelis the use of the canal. They went with option number two. They scuttled numerous vessels on either end of the canal to block the passage of ships. They blew up a bridge, and they also put mines in the canal. The Suez Canal was closed for business. This had an enormous impact on global shipping.

The Suez Canal shortened the length between Europe and Asia by 8,900 kilometers or 5,500 miles. Goods would now take weeks longer to reach their final destination. Ships that were just outside the canal on either end had to turn around and either go back to their home port or take the much longer route around Africa. Those ships, however, were able to turn around. There were a small number of ships that were actually caught in the middle of the canal. There were 15 ships traveling north through the canal when it closed. Fourteen of those ships were trapped in the widening of the canal known as the Great Bitter Lake,

and one was stuck further north in the widening known as Lake Timsa. The ships were a random international collection of ships. Four were from the UK, two each from West Germany, the U.S., Sweden, and Poland, and one each from France, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia. Not only was the way out of either end of the canal blocked with sunken ships and mines, but on either side of the canal there were bitter enemies who were shooting at each other. For months, the ships just sat there. They couldn't go anywhere, and none of the crew could get off their ships.

Finally, in October, five months after the canal was closed off, the officers of the 14 ships in the Great Bitter Lake met on board the British ship Malampus to discuss their collective problem. They agreed to create the informal Great Bitter. Bitter Lake Association. They would jointly visit each other's ships for various activities to keep the crews occupied. A British ship, the MS Port Invercargill, was the largest ship, and they hosted soccer matches. Church services were held on the West German ship, the Bulgarian ship had movie nights, and the Swedish ship had a pool. The next year, 1968,

the ships held their own version of the Olympics at the same time as the Mexico City Games. The Bitter Lake Olympic Games were held between the various ships. The Eight Nations represented competed in 14 events, including sailing, diving, sprinting, high jump, archery, shooting, and water polo. The first place country was Poland, with the Germans coming in second and the British coming in third. By 1969, with no end in sight for the rescue of the ships, something had to be done. The crews couldn't be expected to spend the rest of their lives imprisoned on these ships. But by the same token, they couldn't completely abandon the ships either. They eventually developed a plan to let most of the crews go home.

They decided to cluster the ships up into three groups. Each group would have a small caretaker crew with representatives from each ship. The caretaker crews would perform basic maintenance on the ships and would be rotated out every three months. In between their three-month tours, the crews could go home. Given the high temperatures of the region, most of the crew on the ships only had to work for six hours a day. They cleaned, maintained the engines, conducted drills,

and basically tried to keep the ships as operational as possible given the conditions. Over the years, these ships developed a quasi-political status. The Great Bitterlake Association became a sort of micronation sandwiched between Egypt and Israel. They developed their own postage system and their own stamps. The stamps had no legal authority, but they actually worked. Coupled with Egyptian postage, they managed to get sent and routed to the correct ships. The stamps and envelopes from the Great Bitter Lake Association have actually become collectibles for people who collect stamps. Over time, the dust of the dead.

desert began to cover the ships, and they developed a yellowish hue, which is how they got their name, the Yellow Fleet. Eventually, all wars come to an end. In 1975, the Suez Canal opened again, and the ships were all free to leave. Over 3,000 sailors were rotated in and out over the years that they were stuck in the Great Bitter Lake. The British ended up writing off the total value of all four of the ships. The Swedish ship was purchased by a Norwegian company. One of the American ships was accidentally struck by an Israeli rocket in 1973. The two West German ships were the only ones of the 15 who were able to sail out of the canal on their own power. When they sailed into Hamburg, they were greeted by a crowd of over 30,000

people. When the German SS Munsterland finally arrived, it had completed its voyage that had lasted eight years, three months, and five days. The associate producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Thor Thompson. If you'd like to to support the show, please donate over at patreon.com. There is content only available to supporters, merchandise, and even opportunities for a show producer credit. If you know someone you think would enjoy the show, please share it with them. Also remember, if you leave a five-star review,

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