Suez Canal tug boats free ship stuck in waterway

Officials say that canal traffic is unaffected

Suez Canal Authority tug boats tow the MV Glory after it became stuck in the waterway. Reuters

Suez Canal tug boats freed a ship stuck in the waterway on Wednesday.

Sources told Reuters that traffic through the vital trade waterway was unaffected by the stranding.

The ship, stuck for more than three hours, is the LNG tanker Grace Emilia, which had broken down, Reuters reported, citing two canal sources.

The incident happened in a southern section of the canal where a second channel allowed ships to bypass the blockage, one of the sources said.

The latest incident comes three weeks after the MV Glory, bound for China carrying 66,000 metric tonnes of corn from Ukraine, had to be refloated after running aground.

The Suez Canal: A stormy 150-year history — in pictures

The Liberia-flagged container ship RDO Concord sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on the 150th anniversary of the canal's inauguration. AFP

A container ship sails through the new section of the Suez Canal in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia, 135km northeast of the caital Cairo on October 10, 2019. AFP

Malaysia-flagged oil tanker Bunga Kasturi sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal. AFP

Admiral Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, speaks during an official ceremony commemorating the canal's 150th anniversary on November 17. AFP

Portugal-flagged container ship MSC Giulia sailing through Egypt's Suez Canalnear Ismailia on the 150th anniversary of the canal's inauguration. AFP

A container ship sails through the new section of the Suez Canal in the Egyptian port city of Ismailia. AFP

A man standing on a boat looks on as a container ship sails through the new section of the Suez Canal. AFP

In this file photo taken in 1860s shows the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt. AFP

This file photo taken in November 1869 shows a painting by an unidentified artist shows the inauguration of the Suez Canal in Egypt on November 17, 1869. AFP

This file photo taken in November 1869 shows the inauguration of the Suez Canal in Egypt. AFP

This file photo taken in November 1869 shows the inauguration of the Suez Canal in Egypt. AFP

In this file photo taken on November 10, 1973, Egyptians unload an amphibious vehicle carrying supplies for the Egyptian third army encircled in the Sinai on the Suez Canal, during the Yom Kippur War. AFP

In 2021, the 400-meter Ever Given container ship ran aground in the canal, blocking global trade for six days due to “technical or human errors”.

Since then, canal authorities have sought to ensure that the canal is widened or deepened at key locations to prevent such incidents from happening again.

They have also bought newer, more powerful tug boats to help move ships that get stranded in the vital waterway, through which about 10 per cent of global trade passes.

The 193km canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red seas opened in 1869 and cuts the journey between Europe and Asia by about 8,900km, or 10 days of sailing.