ALEXANDRIA - An Italian container ship has sunk off Egypt's coast but its crew was rescued during an operation to pull it to safety after it broke down in rough weather, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. The Jolly Amaranto, with a crew of 16 Italians and five Romanians on board and a cargo of toxic paint, was hit by engine failure last week during heavy storms off the coast of Marsa Matrouh in northwest Egypt. During an operation by rescue services of Alexandria port with a tug boat, the containers started to slide into the water, tipping the Italian ship and causing it to flood, MENA said. The ship had broken down three days earlier off the coast of Marsa Matrouh. Port authorities, meanwhile, reopened Alexandria and Dekheila ports as weather conditions improved. Strong rains and sandstorms which battered Egypt at the weekend killed more than 30 people. Maritime traffic at the Suez Canal was restored after the entry of south-bound ships was barred on Sunday and north-bound traffic was limited from the waterway, which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
