Middle EastOperations

Bulk carrier grounds along the Suez Canal 

A 56,708 dwt supramax bulk carrier grounded early this morning along the Suez Canal with ships then backing up behind it. The ship was refloated nearly four hours after it ran into difficulty.

The Hong Kong-flagged Xin Hai Tong 23 ran aground at KM 159 at the canal’s southern end at around 0400 hours, according to Leth Agencies.  MarineTraffic showed the ship’s stern wedged into the eastern bank of the canal. 

Four tugboats were deployed to the scene and managed to free the ship at 0740 hours this morning. A convoy that had originally been planned to transit at 0600 hours was rescheduled to move three and a half hours later than planned.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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