The stuck tanker AFFINITY V has been refloated by tugboats and is now moving slowly after briefly halting traffic in the Suez Canal.
After the Singapore-flagged oil tanker reported that it had run aground in the busy shipping lane, navigation in the canal came to a standstill early on Thursday.
The tanker had lost control while heading southbound and was later struck by a smaller tanker named AMELIA before coming to a halt, according to a website.
The tanker could be refloated because it was not fully laden with cargo.
Considered the main source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government, the Suez Canal is a strategic waterway that connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
12 percent of global trade traffic passes through the 152-year-old canal and maintains its importance in world trade.
The canal, with a permissible draft of only 66 feet, can accommodate 61.2 percent of the world’s tanker fleets, 92.7 percent of bulk carrier fleets, and 100 percent of container ships and other ships.
Last year, the Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, was stuck in the canal for 106 days and caused a big loss both in global trade and Egypt’s economy.
