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According to two maritime sources stationed in Egypt, the Suez Canal was open for business on Wednesday after two earlier colliding tankers were dispersed.
Eyewitnesses said that the two tankers—the Singapore-flagged BW Lesmes, a transporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the Cayman Islands-flagged oil products tanker Burri—briefly collided in the canal early on Wednesday.
The sources didn’t provide any other details on the incident.
But, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie was quoted by Egypt’s AlQahera News as claiming that a ship that broke down in the navigation route was beginning to be towed in a post on X, the social networking platform that replaced Twitter.
According to ship monitoring information on Refinitiv Eikon, the BW Lesmes was looking north as of 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) but was being dragged to the south by two tugboats. The data revealed that the Burri was anchored and pointed south around 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the canal’s southern end.
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Tracking Map Offers Insights
Around 2040 GMT, the Burri turned sideways and collided with a BW Lesmes that was already leaning sideways before backing up and pointing straight, according to a time-lapse of the tracking map supplied by MarineTraffic.
Requests for feedback from BW Group and TMS Tankers, who manage the Burri, were not immediately fulfilled.
When contacted by Reuters, a person who answered the phone at the Suez Canal Authority’s operations department said he was unable to provide any information on the tankers. When prompted, he refused to reveal his name. The Authority hasn’t yet made a formal announcement.
The Suez Canal, one of the busiest waterways on earth, is the fastest waterway connecting Europe and Asia.
The canal is used for about 12% of global trade. The Ever Giving, 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.
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Source: Reuters
