Vessel runs aground, briefly blocking Suez Canal

The Suez Canal can be a pinch point for large vessels. Photo / 123RF

An oil tanker ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal yesterday, briefly blocking the global waterway, an official said.

The Singaporean-flagged Affinity V vessel became wedged in a single-lane stretch of the canal, said George Safwat, a spokesman for Suez Canal Authority.

He told a government-affiliated Extra News satellite television the authority that operates the canal refloated the vessel using tugboats.

Safwat said the vessel was coming from Portugal and heading to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu. He said the vessel was part of a convoy.

The Suez Canal transits two convoys every day; one northbound to the Mediterranean and the other southbound to the Red Sea.

- AP