Bulk Carrier Grounded in Suez Canal Refloated

A ship which was stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, was successfully refloated by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) today morning.

"The Suez Canal Authority has successfully refloated M/V XIN HAI TONG 23 at 0740hrs local time. The northbound convoy will enter at 0930hrs," shipping agent Leth Agencies informed.

The bulk carrier, M/V XIN HAI TONG 23 was grounded in the Suez Canal at KM 159 at 4 am (local time), leaving behind 4 vessels from the early convoy in addition to the ordinary group which was planned to enter Suez Canal at about 0600 hrs on Thursday.

The ship is Xin Hai Tong 23, a 189m-long bulk carrier that was built in 2010 and is sailing under Hong Kong flag, the shipping agent stated.

Earlier in the day, Chairman & Managing Director of SCA, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie stated: "The authority is pushing the marine rescue team and three tugboats to deal with an emergency breakdown in the machinery of a cargo ship while it was crossing the canal."

In 2021, a 400-metre, 220,000 tonne container ship was lodged in the Suez Canal for nearly a week, disrupting trade on a global scale.

The operation to free the Ever Given ship from the canal caused a backlog that delayed the journeys of hundreds of ships, forcing some to take a much longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

Read More: Massive Container Vessel Runs Aground in Suez Canal Blocking Traffic