According to CCTV News and Egyptian media, a Singapore-flagged tanker carrying 64,000 tons of dead weight and 252 meters long ran aground in the Suez Canal on the evening of August 31, local time, leading to the suspension of navigation through the Suez Canal.
The Affra tanker Affinity V briefly ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal late on Wednesday due to a technical fault with its rudder, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Wednesday (local time). After the tanker ran aground, five tugboats from the Suez Canal Authority managed to float the ship again in a coordinated operation.
An SCA spokesman said the ship ran aground at 7.15pm local time (1.15am Beijing time) and floated again about five hours later. But traffic had returned to normal shortly after midnight local time, according to two SCA sources.
It is understood that the accident occurred in the southern single channel extension of the canal, the same location that sparked global concern when the ship "Changsi" ran aground. Only 18 months had passed since the great blockage of the century.
The Singapore-flagged tanker was said to be part of a flotilla heading south to the Red Sea. Two fleets pass through the Suez Canal every day, one north to the Mediterranean and one south to the Red Sea, the main route for oil, gas and goods.
Built in 2016, the Affinity V wheel is 252 meters long and 45 meters wide. According to a spokesman, the ship had set sail from Portugal to the Red Sea port of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.
Frequent congestion in the Suez Canal has also made the canal authorities determined to expand. After the Changci ran aground, SCA began to widen and deepen the channel in the southern part of the canal. Plans include expanding a second channel to allow ships to travel in both directions simultaneously. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2023.
Post time: Sep-02-2022