Broken down tanker towed through Suez Canal, traffic briefly interrupted

Egypt deployed three tugs on Sunday to tow an oil tanker broke down in the Suez Canalannounced the authority in charge of this maritime passage through which passes 10% of world trade.

Traffic has returned to normal “in both directions”, after a brief interruption caused by a “technical malfunction in the engine room” of the Seavigour ship, flying the Maltese flag and supposed to join Russia to China, indicated the Suez Canal Authority.

Three tugs had to “haul and moor for repairs” the oil tanker, then broke down, with a capacity of 82,000 tons and 274 m long and 48 wide, said the same source.

32% inflation in Egypt

The incident occurred while Egypt is going through a crisis economy characterized by inflation of 32% and a devaluation of its currency by 50%. The country is seeking resources in dollars to meet these urgent challenges. The Suez Canal is one of its top sources of foreign currency revenue with over $7 billion in revenue recorded in 2022.

In March 2021, Ever Givena giant container ship weighing almost 200,000 tons whose bow had become embedded in the eastern bank of the canal during a sandstorm, had blocked the traffic route between Europe and Asia for several days.

The rescue operation lasted six days and cost the life of an agent of the Suez Canal Authority. Egypt had lost between 12 and 15 million dollars per day of closure while insurers had estimated the impact on global maritime trade at billions of dollars of loss per day.