Suez Canal traffic normal despite ship's engine breakdown

CAIRO: The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said that traffic in the vital waterway remained unaffected despite a sudden break in a ship's engine.

"The SCA has swiftly tackled a sudden break in an engine of one of the passing ships, oil tanker M/T Rumford, through the canal," Xinhua news agency quoted the SCA as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

Carrying 62,000 tonnes of oil, the ship was passing the canal in the south convoy when the trouble occurred, it added, explaining that SCA's tug boats have helped solve the problem.

"The ship resumed its passage after the engine was fixed by its staff," the statement said, adding traffic of containers in the canal's both branches wasn't impacted by the sudden incident.

Traffic resumed on March 29 after the 224,000-tonne Panama-flagged ship, Ever Given, was grounded on March 23 after it had veered off its course in a single-lane stretch of the canal during a sandstorm.

The incident caused a six-day suspension of navigation in the canal, stranding at least 422 ships.

Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 km.

Some 12 per cent of the world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal.

At least 18,840 ships passed through the canal last year.

The Suez Canal provides one of Egypt's main sources of income, alongside tourism and remittances from expatriates.

Revenue from the waterway reached $5.6 billion last year. (IANS)

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