Media sources reported, citing the canal's administration, that a tanker that interrupted navigation in the Suez Canal has been refloated after having been run aground for a few hours.

Media reported earlier that navigation in the Suez Canal was halted due to a stranded Singapore-flagged oil tanker.

Singapore-Flagged Tanker Runs Aground in Suez Canal

Media sources reported that a Singapore-flagged tanker has run aground in the Suez Canal and that tug boats were working to release the ship, which in turn impeded navigation in the canal.

The Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red seas, carries about 10% of global trade, including 7% of global oil. The canal, which first opened in 1869, provides Egypt with both national pride and foreign currency. The unprecedented 2021 revenues came as the shipping industry is still reeling from the effects of a two-year coronavirus pandemic.

The canal, one of the world's most important waterways, was closed for six days in March after a massive Panama-flagged container ship, the Ever Given, ran aground in the waterway's single lane. 

Technical problem was main cause

The Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie said the reason leading to the grounding of a tanker was a technical steering problem. 

"The AFFINITY tanker with a displacement of 64,000 tonnes, which ran aground... due to a technical malfunction in the steering system, has been successfully refloated," Rabie said.

George Safwat, a spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority, said the vessel sailed from Portugal and was en route to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu.