Four Suez Canal tugboats were working to move a stranded container ship after it broke down in the waterway on Sunday, but the vessel was not blocking other shipping, the Canal Authority said.
George Safwat, the authority’s spokesman, said in a statement that the MSC ISTANBUL, which is sailing under the flag of Liberia, was on its way from Malaysia to Portugal when it got stuck. A fifth tugboat was on its way to take part in the re-floating efforts, he added. He said traffic in the vital waterway has not been affected by the “emergency situation”.
“All the ships that are coming from the north have normally passed and navigation from the south also proceeded normally after the ships were diverted from the western channel to the eastern channel,” Safwat said. Eikon shipping data showed the vessel as having run aground at about 1600 GMT on Sunday.
