Ship's dog mascot drowns after returning to sinking boat

There was one fatality in the drama of the “Jolly Amaranto”, the Italian container ship which sunk off the coast of Egypt on Tuesday.



The crew of 16 Italians and five Romanians were taken to safety by tug boat but Athos, the large, black mongrel dog who was the ship’s mascot, jumped into the sea from the tug boat in an effort to rejoin the ship on which he had always lived. Athos, however, had never learned to swim.

The “Jolly Amaranto”, which was carrying a cargo of toxic paints, ran into engine trouble last week during heavy storms off the coast of Marsa Matruh in northwest Egypt. With engines switched off, the ship was buffeted by 13-metre-high waves and winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour for 48 hours before the crew were rescued.



During this time, Athos never left the bridge and his antics kept the crew smiling. The crew finally reached safety in the Port of Alexandria.