Vessel runs aground, briefly blocking part of Suez Canal

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Posted at 5:53 PM, Sep 09, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-09 18:53:18-04

CAIRO (AP) — The Suez Canal authorities say a bulk carrier vessel became wedged and briefly blocked traffic in one lane of the crucial global waterway.

Egyptian officials said the Panama-flagged Coral Crystal ran aground Thursday in a double-lane stretch of the canal.

The brief blockage forced authorities to redirect other vessels in the convoy to the other lane.

The canal's tugboats managed to float the south-bound vessel which then resumed its voyage.

"With a tonnage of 43,000 tons, stressing that the ship was dealt with professionally by the authority’s tugs, and the ship resumed its crossing in the canal, stressing that the navigation movement was not affected, as the following ships were directed to cross from the eastern Al-Balah branch, and the matter was dealt with and the ship completed its journey through the canal," the agency announced on Twitter.

Thursday's incident came less than six months after the massive Panama-flagged Ever Given ran aground in a single-lane stretch of the canal.
