Photos: Navigation through Suez Canal back to normal after broke-down tankers towed: SCA

CAIRO – 23 August 2023: Navigation through the Suez Canal has been back to normal after tugboats managed to tow the two tankers that slightly collided and broke down in the global waterway, disrupting traffic.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said its tugboats succeeded in tugging the tankers, which collided while crossing southbound through a single-lane stretch of the canal.

LNG tanker BW Lesmes, which carried the flag of Singapore, stopped working after facing malfunction in its steering and propulsion systems at the 144-kilometer mark earlier today, the SCA said.

Meanwhile, strong currents forced Cayman Islands-flagged oil products tanker Burri," which was sailing behind, to mildly bump into BW Lesmes.

No significant damages took place. However, the crew of Burri tanker reported a sudden malfunction in its steering system. The SCA sent two tugboats to tow Burri and four tugboats to tow BW Lesmes.

BW Lesmes is 295 meters long and 46 meters wide with a tonnage of 121,000 tons, while Burri is 250 meters long, 44 meters wide with a tonnage of 67,000 tons.

The incident comes three weeks after a tugboat sank in the canal as it collided with a giant tanker, killing a crew member and injuring six others of the tugboat crew.