64,000 Ton Oil Tanker Runs Aground in Suez Canal

A 64,000-ton oil tanker named ‘Affinity V’ ran aground in the Suez Canal at the 141km mark, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) revealed in a company statement released on September 1.

In the statement, the SCA outlined that the ship had been successfully refloated thanks to the efforts of the SCA’s salvage units and tugboats. The tanker was said to have run aground due to technical failure in the rudder, “which led to loss of steering ability”.

“Immediately after the incident, Adm. Rabiee [Chairman of the SCA] put together a work group of traffic control officers under H.E.’s direct supervision and leadership,” the SCA noted.

“The team worked in co-ordination with the Port-Tawfiq traffic control office to carry out the necessary measures. Five tugboats were deployed to the incident’s location as well as the SCA’s salvage division to carry out rapid intervention measures and refloat the vessel,” the SCA added.

In separate posts on its official Twitter page, the SCA showed a picture of the Affinity V and a video of Rabiee announcing the success of the flotation of the fuel tanker.

#AFFINITY #Suezcanal pic.twitter.com/LLOqyoSHSG

— هيئة قناة السويس Suez Canal Authority (@SuezAuthorityEG) September 1, 2022

بالفيديو…. الفريق أسامة ربيع يعلن نجاح تعويم ناقلة الوقود #affinity #suezcanal #قناة_السويس_شريان_الحياة pic.twitter.com/DjX0r9U6S8

— هيئة قناة السويس Suez Canal Authority (@SuezAuthorityEG) September 1, 2022

According to marinetraffic.com, Affinity V was built in 2016 and is sailing under the flag of Singapore. Its carrying capacity is 114070 t DWT, its length overall is 252.26 meters and its width is 45.04 meters, marinetraffic.com shows.

On March 25 2021, Wood Mackenzie estimated that 16 laden crude and product oil tankers had been delayed by a Suez Canal blockage, which was said to amount to 870,000 tons of crude and 670,000 tons of clean products. On March 31, 2021, the SCA announced that navigation in the canal was back in both directions.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com