A tanker and an oil tanker have suffered a slight collision in the Suez Canal, where traffic has been interrupted, although the authority that manages it expects navigation to return to normal "in the coming hours". The accident coincides with a drought affecting the other major maritime canal, that of Panama, where the pace of passage has been reduced by water shortages.
The crash took place early on Wednesday and affected the BW Lesmes, which transports liquefied natural gas and is 295 meters long, and the Burri, which carries oil and is somewhat smaller, 250 meters. The first made a "sudden stop" near kilometer 144 of the canal due to a technical failure that caused it to lose its handling, according to the Canal Authority. The failure coincided with "a strong current" that caused the Burri to have a "slight contact" with the other boat.
"We have taken care of the breakdowns suffered by an LNG vessel and an oil tanker during their transit through the Canal and navigation will return to normal in both directions in the coming hours," said Ossama Rabiee, president and chief operating officer of the Suez Canal Authority.
Rabiee also stated that tugboats went to the scene and first moored the Burri and then moved the BW Lesmes, which has already been removed from the waterway. Activity will resume on the canal when the Burri is set aside. Initial inspections revealed no significant damage or incidents of contamination.
Two years ago, navigation in the Suez Canal came to a complete standstill when the massive 400-metre-long Ever Given was stranded transversely. The accident affected global supply chains. In this case, everything is expected to return to normal in hours, although the clash has coincided with the drought that causes delays of up to 20 days in the Panama Canal, where daily traffic has been reduced to 32 ships, instead of the normal 38. The maximum draught of vessels passing through the infrastructure has also been limited to reduce water consumption.
- Canal de Suez