Two tankers collide in Egypt’s Suez Canal, disrupt traffic in vital waterway

PTI, Aug 23, 2023, 7:28 PM IST

In this handout photo released by the Suez Canal Authority on August 23, 2023, a ship, The Burri, and a tugboat are shown in the waterway after a collision with another large transport vessel. (Credit: Suez Canal Authority via AP)

Cairo: Two tankers carrying oil products and liquefied natural gas collided in the Suez Canal, disrupting traffic through the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said Wednesday.

The Suez Canal authority said in a statement that the BW Lesmes, a Singapore-flagged tanker that carries liquefied natural gas, suffered a mechanical malfunction on Tuesday night and ran aground while transiting through the canal. The Burri, a Cayman Island-flagged oil products tanker, collided with the broken vessel.

The collision disrupted traffic, the statement said. The two tankers were part of a convoy transiting through from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

“We’ve immediately handled the breakdowns…and traffic will go back to normal in both directions within the coming hours,” said Adm. Ossama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, in the statement.

The canal services firm Leth Agencies said Wednesday the incident delayed the transit of 21 southbound vessels.

About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government.

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 and disrupting global trade.

MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service provider, released a time-lapse video for the incident that showed the Burri turning to port and colliding with the BW Lesmes which was already grounding across the waterway.

Built in 2018, the Burri is 250 metres (820 feet) long and 44 metres (144 feet) wide. The BW Lesmes was built three years later and is 295 metres (968 feet) long and 46.43 metres (152 feet) wide, according to MarineTraffic.

The canal authorities said they managed to refloat and tow away the BW Lesmes, while efforts were underway to remove the Burri from the waterway. It posted images showing the Lesmes anchored in the canal anchorage, while others showed the Burri being towed away.

“All crew members are safe and accounted for and there were no injuries or any reports of pollution,” BW LNG AS, the operators of the BW Lesmes, said in a statement.

Rabei said initial inspections showed that there was no significant damage to the tankers, or pollution at the site. A technical team from Oslo, Norway, would arrive at the vessel later Wednesday to investigate the incident, BW LNG AS said.

The incident was the latest case of a vessel reported stuck in the crucial waterway. A flurry of ships has run aground or broken down in the Suez Canal over the past few years. Earlier this month, a tugboat sank in the canal after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged tanker.

The canal, which connects the the Mediterranean and the Red seas, was opened in 1869. It provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. The canal authority operates a system of convoys, consisting of one northbound and one southbound per day.

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