Egypt, Norwegian cargo ship runs aground in the Suez Canal
The Norwegian vessel that once again stopped the Suez Canal has been refloated. The 225-metre-long MV Glory ran aground this morning due to an “unexpected technical failure”, according to a statement from the Suez Canal Authority, blocking the strategic waterway connecting Asia to the Europe.
An incident that brought to mind the six-day blockade caused in 2021 by the Ever Given cargo ship, 400 meters long and with a tonnage of 220,000 tons. This time the canal resumed operations as early as 11 am thanks to the intervention of the tugboats, which allowed the 21 ships in columns to continue their journey south.
Among the goods transported by the ship, there are more than 65 thousand tons of corn from Ukraine, as stated by the joint coordination center in Istanbul which monitors the export of commercial food products and fertilizers from Ukrainian ports, according to which the cargo is destined for China. The vessel ran aground south of Port Said due to bad weather and heavy rain.
According to a source cited by Bloomberg, the vessel was stranded for four hours due to a mechanical problem with one of the engines. The ship stopped after crossing the northern access to the canal, through which about 12% of global trade passes.
