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Two
canal sources said traffic was back to normal by around 11:00 am
local time (0800 GMT), around six hours after the incident began
and three-and-a-half hours after the vessel was refloated.
Shipping agent Leth Agencies identified the ship as the 190
metre (623 foot) Xin Hai Tong 23, a bulk carrier.
"The Suez Canal Authority has successfully refloated M/V XIN HAI
TONG 23 at 0740hrs (0440 GMT). The northbound convoy will enter
at 0930hrs," it said in a tweet.
In a statement, canal authorities said they had been informed of
an engine malfunction and deployed tugboats to successfully
refloat the ship. The process was briefly delayed by the failure
of the ship's winch, they added.
"Shipping activity on both directions would return to normal as
soon as the towing process is finished, as a precautionary
measure," the canal authorities said.
Leth had previously tweeted that the vessel had disrupted at
least two convoys of ships.
Refinitiv Eikon shipping data had shown the ship, which sails
under the Hong Kong flag, as "not under command" near the
southern end of the canal. It was initially positioned at an
angle with its stern abutting the canal's eastern side but later
appeared to have been moved towards the center and pointed
south. Three Egyptian tugboats surrounding it.
The ship had originated from Dhuba port in Saudi Arabia. It is
owned by Xiang B12 HK International Ship Lease and managed by
Tosco Keymax International Ship Management.
Approximately 12% of the world's trade moves through the canal.
During strong winds in 2021, a huge container ship, the Ever
Given, became jammed across it, halting traffic in both
directions for six days and disrupting global trade.
Last year, tug boats refloated an oil tanker that was briefly
stranded in the canal after to a technical fault with its
rudder, while the breakdown of a container ship in the canal
caused minor delays in March.
(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Tala Ramadan
in Dubai; writing by Nafisa Eltahir, Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman, Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast, Peter
Graff)
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