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An AIS screengrab from MarineTraffic.com showing the BW Lesmes and Burri after colliding in the Suez Canal. Image courtesy MarineTraffic.com

An AIS screengrab from MarineTraffic.com showing the BW Lesmes and Burri after colliding in the Suez Canal. Image courtesy MarineTraffic.com

Tanker and LNG Carrier Collide in Suez Canal

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 18268
August 22, 2023

Update: The Suez Canal Authority is reporting that the incident has been resolved and Suez Canal operations have returned to normal.

Earlier: An LNG carrier lost control and turned sideways in the Suez Canal, causing another tanker to run into it, AIS ship tracking data from MarineTraffic.com showed.

A third tanker was also in the vicinity, but it’s unclear if it was involved in any way.

MarineTraffic said it received an eyewitness report of the collision involving the Burri, a Cayman Island tanker, and the Singapore-flagged LNG carrier BW Lesmes. The third tanker is the Athens Spirit, flying the flag of the Bahamas. It also shared an AIS replay of the incident, showing the BW Lesmes sideways in a section of the southern end of the Suez Canal, where there is only one lane of traffic.

The vessels were finishing a southbound transit when the incident occurred.

The Ever Given grounded in the same general vicinity in March 2021, blocking the waterway for six days.

As if this update, the latest AIS data shows that the BW Lesmes is no longer straddling the canal, but it remains in the area with the assistance of tugboats.

Impacts on Suez Canal operations are not known at this time.

The Panama Maritime Authorities’ investigation into the Ever Given incident revealed errors by the Suez Canal Authorities, in addition to speeding, strong winds, and low visibility caused by a dust storm.

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