Suez Canal Authority recovers sunken tugboat that collided with giant tanker

CAIRO – 8 August 2023: Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced Tuesday the success of the operation to recover the sunken tugboat that collided with a giant tanker in the Suez Canal “Fahd”.

According to Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chief Admiral Osama Rabie the “rescue” crane was used to recover the tugboat and help clearing the canal's navigational passage.

 

Rabie praised the efforts of the marine rescue team and all the workers participating in the rescue operation from the various departments, who combined their efforts to complete the marine rescue work efficiently and within a short time, without affecting the navigation movement in the canal.

He noted that they faced several challenges during their mission which included the intensity of water currents, lack of visibility, as well as diving at great depths, reaching of 27 meters.

Rabie explained that the process of lifting and removing the tug “Fahd” required several procedures, starting with surveying the area of the collision accident to locate the sunken locomotive, then securing the location of the tug with warning and guiding flaps to enable the passing ships to resume their crossing safely, after which the work of lifting the sunken tug began.

 

The Authority Chef pointed out that the site of the recovery of the sunken tugboat was secured navigationally and environmentally against potential oil spill accidents.

Rabie confirmed that the navigation movement in the canal operates regularly from both directions and was not affected by the rescue work, as the canal witnessed during the past two days, the crossing of 146 ships from both directions, with a total net tonnage of 8.4 million tons.