By SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)
CAIRO (AP) — Two tankers carrying oil merchandise and liquefied pure gasoline collided within the Suez Canal, briefly disrupting visitors by way of the worldwide waterway, Egyptian authorities mentioned Wednesday.
The Suez Canal authority mentioned in a press release that the BW Lesmes, a Singapore-flagged tanker that carries liquefied pure gasoline, suffered a mechanical malfunction Tuesday evening and ran aground whereas transiting by way of the canal. The Burri, a Cayman Islands-flagged oil merchandise tanker, collided with the damaged vessel.
The collision disrupted visitors for a number of hours earlier than it resumed after the 2 tankers had been towed away, the Suez Canal authority mentioned. The two tankers had been a part of a convoy transiting by way of the canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.
“We’ve immediately handled the breakdowns … and traffic will go back to normal in both directions within the coming hours,” mentioned Adm. Ossama Rabei, the pinnacle of the canal authority, within the assertion.
The canal providers agency Leth Agencies mentioned the incident delayed the transit of 21 southbound vessels that had been scheduled to move by way of the waterway on Tuesday.
About 10% of world commerce flows by way of the canal, a significant supply of international foreign money for the Egyptian authorities.
MarineTraffic, a vessel monitoring service supplier, launched a time-lapse video of the incident that confirmed the Burri turning to port and colliding with the BW Lesmes, which was already grounding throughout the waterway.
Built in 2018, the Burri is 250 meters (820 toes) lengthy and 44 meters (144 toes) huge. The BW Lesmes was constructed three years later and is 295 meters (968 toes) lengthy and 46.43 meters (152 toes) huge, in accordance with MarineTraffic.
Canal authorities mentioned they managed to refloat and tow away the BW Lesmes. They additionally eliminated the Burri from the waterway. The authority posted pictures exhibiting the Lesmes anchored within the canal, whereas others confirmed the Burri being towed away.
“All crew members are safe and accounted for and there were no injuries or any reports of pollution,” BW LNG AS, the operators of the BW Lesmes, mentioned in a press release.
Rabei mentioned preliminary inspections confirmed there was no vital injury to the tankers, or air pollution on the web site. A technical workforce from Oslo, Norway, was to reach on the vessel later Wednesday to analyze, BW LNG AS mentioned.
The incident was the most recent case of a vessel reported caught within the essential waterway. A flurry of ships have run aground or damaged down within the Suez Canal over the previous few years. Earlier this month, a tugboat sank within the canal after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged tanker.
In March 2021, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed right into a financial institution on a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for six days and disrupting world commerce.
The canal, which connects the the Mediterranean and the Red seas, was opened in 1869. It gives an important hyperlink for oil, pure gasoline and cargo. The canal authority operates a system of convoys, consisting of 1 northbound and one southbound per day.
According to the Suez Canal Authority, final yr 23,851 vessels handed by way of the waterway, in comparison with 20,649 vessels in 2021. Revenue from the canal in 2022 reached $8 billion, the best in its historical past.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”