Vessel runs aground, briefly blocking part of Suez Canal
A bulk carrier vessel became wedged today in Egypt’s Suez Canal, briefly blocking traffic in one lane of the crucial global waterway, Egyptian authorities say.
The Suez Canal Authority says in a statement that the Panama-flagged Coral Crystal ran aground in a double-lane stretch of the canal, forcing the officials to redirect other vessels in the convoy to the other lane.
It says the canal’s tugboats managed to float the southbound vessel, which carries cargo weighing 43,000 tons. The Coral Crystal then resumed its voyage, the canal says.
Officials have not said what caused the vessel to run aground.
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The Suez Canal naval fleet succeeded Today, in floating the Coral Crystal ship, at navigation number 54 of the canal.
The ship, with the Panamanian flag, bound for Port Sudan, is 225 m long and 32 m wide, and caused 4 ships to be disabled Temporarily.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/1WkEGWJfCG— مشاريع مصر Egypt (@EgyProjects) September 9, 2021
The ship was built in 2012 with a length of nearly 225 meters (738 feet) and a width of over 32 meters (104 feet). It was en route to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, according to Traffic Marine, a vessel tracking firm.
Today’s incident comes less than six months after the massive Panama-flagged Ever Given ran aground in the single-lane stretch of the canal. The hulking vessel blocked the canal for six days before being released in a massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats.
The blockage earlier this year disrupted global shipment. About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a pivotal source of foreign currency to Egypt. Some 19,000 vessels passed through the canal last year, according to official figures.
