© Ewen MacKenzie/ Magnus News AgenThe footage of the tornado swirling above the sea was captured in dramatic footage by two brave sailors
Ewen MacKenzie, 37, and Barry Stevenson, 31, were on board a vessel in Egyptian waters when the amazing natural phenomenon appeared.
It was around 7am on October 16 in the Mediterranean off northern Egypt when a funnel-like cloud began to appear in an otherwise clear blue sky.
Within minutes the cloud had formed into what is known as a water spout - a tornado-like column of spinning air which forms usually over large lakes or seawater.
Luckily for the crew of the ship water tornadoes are not as powerful as their land-based cousins but the impressive swirling vortex still came within 40 metres -less than the width of a football pitch - from the ship.
Winds in water spouts reach around 50mph but on rare occasions large spouts can generate speeds of up to 150mph.
Dad-of-two Barry, from north east Scotland, said: 'It was a clear blue sky apart from cloud formation in the distance, as the cloud moved closer I could see the water spout.
'I noticed the clouds were moving towards the vessel and over the next 20 minutes the spout travelled towards us and passed around 40m to the aft.'
Ewen, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) supervisor, from Dores, near Loch Ness, said there had been thunder and lightning overnight.
He said: 'Barry was the one who phoned me to tell me to look out the starboard side and I watched as it headed towards our vessel, the Far Samson.
'I did not feel in any danger, I was interested in how it would behave if it had hit the ship.
© Barry Stevenson/ Magnus News AgeEwen MacKenzie said he didn't feel like he was in danger
'I have seen some before in the past but they were always miles away. It was strange because even though it was like a tornado it appeared to almost move in slow motion.'
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