Suez Canal blocked again, yet posed no delays for shippers and containers
Not seven months after the incident of the first Suez Canal blockage in Egypt that another vessel was reported to have been grounded, momentarily blocking one lane of the crucial global waterway.
In early September, a bulk carrier vessel became wedged in Egypt’s Suez Canal, briefly blocking traffic, Egyptian authorities said.
In a statement, Suez Canal authorities mentioned that the Coral Crystal, hailing from Panama, ran aground within a double-lane stretch of the canal, forcing officials to redirect other vessels in the convoy to the other lane.
“The canal’s tugboats managed to float the south-bound vessel which carries cargo weighing 43,000 tons. The canal transits two convoys every day; one north-bound to the Mediterranean and the other south-bound to the red sea. The Coral Crystal then resumed its voyage,” canal authorities mentioned.
According to Admiral Ossama Rabei, Head of the Suez Canal, the incident was very brief and was resolved in a professional manner.
George Safwat, canal spokesman said 61 vessels carrying a total of 3.2 million tons of cargo transited the Suez Canal that day and were not negatively impacted in any way.
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