Following the collision of two vessels, normal traffic is anticipated to resume via the Suez Canal in a matter of hours, according to the head of the canal administration.
According to authority chairman Osama Rabie, “slight contact” was made after LNG carrier BW Lesmes abruptly came to a stop as a result of a technical issue that also happened to coincide with a strong current that pushed oil tanker Burri in its direction.
He claimed that the canal administration replied by dispatching tugboats to relocate both ships.
According to Rabie, the Cayman Islands-flagged Burri could be seen approaching the southern end of the canal as of 12:00 p.m. local time, while the Singapore-flagged BW Lesmes was safely towed outside of the channel.
Once Burri is back, the north convoy of the canal will resume, said Rabie.
BW LNG AS, the BW Lesmes’ owners, reported the ship went aground while travelling south through the Suez Canal at around 21:35 (1835 GMT) (10:35 pm MUT) on Tuesday, according to a statement from BW Group.
The vessel’s operational capabilities were unaffected by the low-speed accident, and it “remains structurally sound,” it was noted. At 3:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, the BW Lesmes was successfully refloated. She will now undergo additional examinations at the Suez anchorage.
The chairman of the Suez Canal stated Burri had a steering issue that would need to be fixed but that there didn’t seem to be any obvious damage or contamination.
The quickest maritime route between Europe and Asia is the Suez Canal, one of the busiest rivers in the world.
The canal is used for about 12% of global trade. The Ever Given, a massive container ship, became stuck across it in 2021 due to severe winds, stopping movement in both directions for six days and interfering with international trade.
