The Egyptian Suez Canal Authority announced, on Sunday, that it is working to move a stuck container ship without affecting navigation.
The head of the authority, Osama Rabie, revealed that “the container ship, MSC Istanbul, ran aground while crossing the canal as part of the southern convoy on its journey from Malaysia to Portugal.”
Rabie said, in a statement posted on the authority’s Facebook page, that “the main navigation control center received notification of the ship’s delinquency at kilometer 78, channel numbering, and four tugboats were immediately pushed to float the ship, which included each of the tugboats Port Said with a tensile strength of 95 tons, and one auxiliary tugboat.” And two and five,” adding that “the tugboat is scheduled to join Baraka One to participate in the flotation work.”
Lieutenant General Osama Rabie sent a “message of reassurance that the navigation movement in the canal would not be affected by this emergency situation, as all ships coming from the north direction crossed in their usual form, and the navigation movement coming from the south direction was organized by diverting the transit of ships from the western channel to the eastern channel,” according to the statement. .
The Suez Canal is one of the most important sources of foreign currency for Egypt, along with remittances from Egyptians abroad and tourism revenues, according to “Agence France Presse”.
On March 23, 2021, the huge container ship “Ever Given” ran aground in the Suez Canal, due to strong winds, which led to a halt in freight traffic in the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, according to Reuters.
On March 29, navigation in the Suez Canal resumed after the ship was floated.
