One of the two vessels that collided on Egypt’s Suez Canal has been refloated and proceeded to anchorage for inspection on Wednesday, while shipping traffic was flowing normally on the Canal, according to a company statement and shipping sources.

Suez Canal traffic

Suez Canal’s tanker collision happened briefly between the two tankers of the Singapore-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier BW Lesmes and the Cayman Islands-flagged oil products tanker Burri, the ship tracking company MarineTraffic said early on Wednesday citing eyewitnesses. The Suez Canal’s traffic of ship was unaffected by the collision.

Egypt’s Suez Canal shipping traffic though was not affected by broken down tanker. The sources did not provide any further details on the Suez Canal tanker collision incident.

However, in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Egypt’s AlQahera News cited Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie as saying that a ship that broke down in the navigation course was starting to be towed, without giving more details.

Suez Canal tanker collision

As of 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), the BW Lesmes was facing north but being towed to the south by two tugboats, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon. Meanwhile, the Burri was moored and pointing south about 12 km (7.5 miles) from the southern end of the canal, the data by Suez Canal authority showed.

A time lapse of the tracking map shared by MarineTraffic showed the Burri turning sideways and colliding with an already sideways BW Lesmes at 2040 GMT before backing up and pointing straight.

No update by Suez Canal Authority

BW Group and TMS Tankers, which manages the Burri, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A person who answered the phone at the Suez Canal Authority’s operations room when contacted said he could not provide any information on the tankers. The Suez Canal Authority has not yet issued an official statement.

One more collision

Following the grounding, another vessel collided with the BW Lesmes at low speed, but did not affect the vessel’s operational capabilities, said BW Group.

“Initial observations from the crew onboard have reported the vessel remains structurally sound,” it said.

BW Lesmes was successfully re-floated at 03:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

World’s busiest waterways

The Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

About 12% of the world’s trade moves through the canal. During strong winds in 2021, a huge container ship, the Ever Given, became jammed across it, halting Suez Canal traffic in both directions for six days and disrupting global trade.

Following Suez Canal’s tanker collision, minor complications stemming from technical glitches aboard individual ships have occasionally emerged, further underlining the complexities of navigating this vital maritime route.

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