A vessel ship heading to Rotterdam has moved ashore in the Suez Canal, stalling other ships from traveling via one of the world’s most active waterways, affiliated to shipping company GAC and transport data on Refinitiv Eikon.
On Tuesday, the 200,000-tonne container traveling from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean was stranded at about 7:40 am when the ship underwent a blackout, GAC reported on its website.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp, which tends to lease the container underneath a time charter, held the ship-owner had well-versed that the ship “was suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate from the waterway and accidentally hit the seafloor and ran aground.
“The company has urged the shipowner to report the cause of the accident and to work out a plan with related units, such as the canal administration, to assist the ship in getting out of trouble as soon as possible,” Evergreen announced. However, Suez Canal authorities have not made any reports as of yet.
The Suez Canal is one of the world’s most deep-rooted and imperative trade ways, and about 10 percent of all international oceanic trade travels through it.
Approximately 19,000 vessels, or an average of 51.5 vessels per day, with a net weight of 1.17 billion tonnes traveled through the canal during 2020, as per the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
The waterway has been a blessing for Egypt’s struggling economy in the contemporary context, with the country grossing $5.61 billion in revenues from the channel the previous year.
In February, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered his cabinet to adopt a “flexible marketing policy” for the canal, in order to handle the economic downturn triggered by COVID-19.
Egyptian authorities are yet to refer on the tanker incident.
In 2018, the Suez Canal remained momentarily shut after a Greek-owned vessel suffered an engine failure that headed to a five-ship smash.
In 2014, the 324-meter (1,062 feet) ampule Colombo Express also lost command and banged into the side of the equally-sized ship Maersk Tanjong.
