Traffic not disrupted in Suez Canal after tanker breaks down: SCA

CAIRO – 1 February 2023: A tanker that broke down in Suez Canal on Wednesday has not disrupted traffic in the international maritime route and was pulled to the side of the canal, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie said.

The Bahamas-flagged Grace Emilia suffered a malfunction while crossing the canal, official spokesman for the SCA George Safwat was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

The malfunction took place in the southern part of the canal, which has two lanes for ships to cross, Safwat said.

In a Tweet, the canal’s services provider Leth Agencies stressed that traffic has not been interrupted in the canal after the tanker broke down in Litter Bitter Lake, adding that vessels can pass in both directions.

A vessel has grounded in the Suez Canal, however this one is not causing traffic interruption, for now. The grounded vessel is LNG Grace Emilia and it happened at km 125 in ‘Little Bitter Lake’ – vessels can pass in both directions.

Credit: Vesselfinder#SuezCanal #Grounding pic.twitter.com/lmivjFttxG

— Leth (@AgenciesLeth) February 1, 2023

In January, the SCA announced refloating the ‘Glory’ Cargo ship after a ‘simple malfunction,’ which did not affect the navigational movement at the strategic waterway.

The incidents bring to mind the incident in March 2021, when the Panama-flagged massive container vessel Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal.

Ever Given blocked one of the world's busiest trade routes for almost a week and causing the canal to bear huge financial losses.