On the 5th, the 84,000 cubic meter large liquefied gas carrier "Chinagas Legend" collided with the tugboat "Fahd" in the Suez Canal. The accident caused the tugboat to sink and a crew member on board died, but the canal navigation was basically unaffected .
cause and effect of the accident
The Suez Canal Authority stated that there were 7 crew members on the tugboat "Fahd" that collided with the "China Burning Legend", of which 6 were rescued and taken to hospital.The victim was Sayed Mouss, a mechanic from Port Said.
It is reported that the "China Burning Legend" itself was not damaged in the collision and can operate normally.At present, the "China Gas Legend" is berthing in Port Said, waiting for the completion of relevant investigation procedures.
On the 6th, Usama Rabi, director of the Suez Canal Authority, announced that the sunken tugboat "Fahd" had been located at 51.300 kilometers (the canal mark), and that salvage work and cleaning of the waterway would begin soon.
The remaining ships of the northbound fleet resumed traffic at Km 51 via the canal's eastern branch.The SCA tweeted that the salvage of the sunken tugboat would begin after the last vessel in the northbound flotilla had passed through.
Rabi said that the northbound navigation of the canal has not stopped, and all escort ships passed safely and were not affected by the accident.
Suez Canal accident
The Suez Canal collision accident is not the only one, and there was another one in April this year.
At around 5:15 on April 4 this year, a 65,000-ton tanker "LYRIC MAGNOLIA" and a 44,000-ton tanker "ALIGOTE" collided while waiting in the Great Bitter Lake.
Both ships sustained some damage to their hulls and remained moored as of the morning of April 5, according to Suez Canal authorities.
An investigation by authorities indicated that the accident was caused by a sudden increase in wind speed over the Suez Canal.When the "ALIGOTE" was about to go to the W1 area, the wind speed suddenly increased and the ship was out of control and hit the "LYRIC MAGNOLIA".
Fortunately, the accident did not cause serious canal traffic congestion, and preliminary inspections also showed that there was no major damage or pollution near the two tankers.The tanker resumed sailing early in the morning after inspectors gave the green light.
The Suez Canal is constantly congested
In addition to these collisions, congestion is the most common occurrence in the Suez Canal.Among them, the biggest impact was the grounding of the giant container ship "Changci" in March 2021, which caused the "century congestion" of the Suez Canal.
The congestion, which lasted nearly a week, resulted in billions of dollars in lost shipments, with Egypt costing between $12 million and $15 million a day.
In addition to this huge congestion, there have been many congestion incidents in the Suez Canal over the years.
In January 2023, a cargo ship "MV Glory" was loaded with corn and other grains and ran aground near the Kantara section of the Suez Canal.There is a straight canal with a width of about 380 meters on both sides.The company said three canal tugboats were called to the rescue following the grounding and successfully refloated the vessel.
In February 2023, a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, Grace Emilia, ran aground in Little Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal.Local news media quoted officials as saying the ship suffered a rudder failure at the time of the incident, which ultimately led to the grounding.
In March 2023, the Liberian-flagged 16,000TEU ultra-large container ship "MSC Istanbul" ran aground while passing through the Suez Canal on its way from Malaysia to Portugal, causing some ships to be diverted.
The grounding accident did not affect the traffic in the Suez Canal. All southbound ships are operating normally, but northbound ships need to turn from the west channel to the east.
In May 2023, a bulk carrier "Xin Haitong 23" ran aground in the Suez Canal.Relevant information shows that the ship "lost control" near the southern end of the Suez Canal and got stuck near the east side of the canal at an angle, causing the canal to be blocked and impassable for a while.More than 3 hours later, they successfully floated out of trouble, and the two-way shipping activities returned to normal.
Release time: 2023-08-11