Traffic resumes in Suez Canal after shipping accident

Sources from the Suez Canal Authority confirmed to Mada Masr on Saturday that traffic resumed in the Suez Canal after a Danish container ship went off course earlier Saturday morning. The ship, the Susan Maersk, was carrying 93 thousand tons of containers when it suddenly swerved and hit the Margret Oldendorff, a Liberian cargo ship carrying coal.

The blow caused a hole in the body of the Liberian ship, however according to Reuters, the damage is above water level, which allowed the vessel to continue its journey to Port Said.

Meanwhile, the Susan Maersk crossed the canal and continued its journey to Port Said where it stopped for fuel, provisions and to unload some containers before it resuming its journey into the Mediterranean.

This is not the first time traffic was stopped in the canal in 2015; In February, traffic in the canal was haulted due to bad weather after a sand storm hit Egypt and Lebanon and, according to local news reports at the time, more than 52 vessels piled up waiting to enter the canal from the Red Sea.  The ships were allowed to enter after the weather stabilized.

In March, traffic in the canal was halted for a couple of hours due to a technical malfunction in two cargo ships from Panamá. The longest jam this year happened in January when traffic was stopped for 12 consecutive hours after the Iranian cargo vessel, the Kiran, derailed near Port Tawfiq due to a malfunction in its steering mechanism.   

The Suez Canal is one of the main shipping lanes worldwide tying Europe to Africa and Asia. The canal brings around $5 billion in profit for Egypt each year.