Oil tanker breaks down in Suez Canal before being town away

Oil tanker breaks down in Suez Canal disrupting traffic in global waterway – before Egyptian tugboats tow it away

  • The tanker broke down in a single-lane part of Egypt’s Suez Canal on Sunday
  • The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered mechanical malfunction at the 12km mark

A tanker transporting crude oil broke down in a single-lane part of Egypt’s Suez Canal on Sunday, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said.

The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a mechanical malfunction at the 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) mark of the canal, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority.

The tanker was transiting the canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

In a phone interview with a local television station, Admiral Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said the tanker broke down in a single-lane part of the waterway, disrupting the transit of eight other vessels behind it.

Hours later, Rabei said in a statement that navigation at the canal had returned to normal after three tugboats towed the tanker to a double-lane part at the 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) mark. 

A tugboat works to refloat the Seavigour oil tanker to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt, on June 4, 2023

A tugboat works to refloat the Seavigour oil tanker to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt, on June 4, 2023

He said that the Seavigour’s crew was working on repairing the malfunction but did not share further details.

The Seavigour was built in 2016, and is 899 feet long and 159 feet wide, according to MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service provider.

Sunday’s incident was the latest case of a vessel reported stuck in the vital waterway. 

A flurry of ships ran aground or broke down in the Suez Canal over the past few years.

On May 25, a Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked the canal. On March 5, a Liberia-flagged ship ran aground in the two-lane part of the waterway. Both vessels were refloated hours later.

The Seavigour oil tanker after it was successfully refloated to the waiting area in the Suez Canal, next to Ismailia, Egypt, on June 4, 2023

Pictured: A satellite image shows tugboats alongside the Ever Given on March 29, 2021

In March 2021, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for six days. 

The disruption cost billions of dollars in shipping delays, with Egypt losing between $12 million and $15 million for every day of the closure.

The canal, which opened in 1869, provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. About 10 per cent of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, last year, 23,851 vessels passed through the waterway, compared to 20,649 vessels in 2021. The revenue from the canal in 2022 reached $8 billion, the highest in its history.

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