The vessel, Affinity V, was blocking the southern section of the Suez Canal for a short period on Wednesday, said Canal authorities. l REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH
CAPE TOWN – A large oil tanker stranded in Egypt's Suez Canal has been refloated, authorities said yesterday.
"The vessel coming from Portugal ran aground in the Suez Canal at about 7pm yesterday, and tug boats released it into its navigational course five hours later," Xinhua news agency quoted George Safwat, spokesperson of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), as saying.
He added that the vessel, Affinity V, had been blocking the southern section of the canal for a short period, noting that "traffic has returned to normal".
According to Sputnik news, technical steering problems led to the grounding of a tanker flying the flag of Singapore in the Suez Canal, Youm7 reported, citing Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie.
Earlier, media reported that an oil tanker flying the flag of Singapore ran aground in the Suez Canal and interrupted navigation in the waterway.
"The AFFINITY tanker with a displacement of 64 000 tons, which ran aground… due to a technical malfunction in the steering system, has been successfully refloated," Rabie said.
The incident took place in the same single-lane stretch of the canal where the Ever Given, a giant cargo ship, ran aground for six days in March last year, causing disruption to the global trade movement.
Since the freeing of the Ever Given, the SCA has been expanding and deepening the course of the canal, which is due to be completed next year.
Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal was officially opened for international navigation in 1869, serving as a lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without having to navigate around Africa.
IOL
Related Topics: