A giant containership ran aground in the Suez Canal on Wednesday and was blocking traffic before tugs eventually freed the vessel.
The vessel has been identified as the 13,050 TEU containership MSC Clorinda.
The GAC shipping agency reported the containership (166 DWT, 153 GT, draft approx. 15m even keel) grounded in the Suez Canal at kilometer 145.
An ECDIS screengrab showing the MSC Clorinda aground in the Suez Canal. Photo:
The MSC Clorinda was fourth in a northbound convoy of 27 vessels. Both the northbound convoy and 31 vessels in a southbound convoy were detained as Suez Canal tugs attempted to refloat the giant containership.
GAC later reported the vessel was successfully refloated at approximately 10:35 local time and both convoys resumed transit.
October will see almost all global ocean carriers make a tentative return to Suez transits on Asia-Europe sailings, after revised pro forma shipping schedules show the Premier Alliance is set to send one of its vessels on the route through the Red Sea and Egyptian waterway.
Container carriers are accelerating their return to the Suez Canal, with COSCO’s OOCL Portugal making a milestone transit even as Houthi advances around Bab el-Mandeb raise fresh security concerns.
Maersk is expanding its gradual return to the Suez Canal, announcing that its MECL service linking India, the Middle East and the U.S. East Coast will once again transit the...
July 9, 2026
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