This photo circulating online shows the MSC Fabiola hard aground in the Suez Canal.
Update (April 30): The MSC Fabiola was refloated early Saturday morning with assistance of tugs and was able to resume its southbound transit. More details at bottom.
April 29: A giant MSC containership is hard aground in the southern end of the Suez Canal and is blocking ship traffic through the busy waterway.
The vessel is the Portuguese-flagged MSC Fabiola, a 12,500 teu, 366-meter-long containership chartered by Mediterranean Shipping Company and operated by the German company Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG.
The shipping agency GAC reports that the grounding occurred at kilometer 144 at about 16:30 local time on Thursday (April 28) after the ship reportedly experienced engine trouble.
AIS shows the vessel aground on the western embankment of the Canal just north of Suez. A photo circulating online confirms what can be seen in AIS. Other ships in the area of the canal where the grounding occurred show a status of either anchored or moored, according to AIS.
MSC Fabiola was number 10 in a southbound convoy of 20 vessels, GAC reported Friday. The rest of the convoy, consisting of 8 vessels, have been stopped. Northbound convoys scheduled for Friday have been suspended, while Friday’s southbound convoys started at 0800 hours local time, but will be forced to stop and wait at Great Bitter Lakes, GAC said.
“Suez Canal tugs are trying to assist the ship, but more traffic delays are expected until the grounded vessel is floated,” GAC said in a statement.
In late February, a capesize bulk carrier ran aground in the Suez Canal and remained stuck for 12 days before crews were able free the vessel.
Update from GAC on the grounding:
The container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal on Thursday afternoon (28 April) was refloated at around 01:20 hours local time this morning (30 April). The vessel resumed its southbound transit to Suez escorted by five tugs.
According to information from the Suez Canal Authority movement section, the Southbound Convoy (currently at Great Bitter lakes) was due to resume transit at about 02:30 – 03:00, after which the Northbound Convoy would be rescheduled.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 108,907 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – When Marco Rubio arrives in Latin America this weekend on his first foreign trip as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, he’ll find a region reeling from the new administration’s...
US President Donald Trump has raised the stakes for a meeting of an OPEC+ ministerial panel next month, with his call for the group to lower oil prices.
Vessels in the northern Gulf have received multiple VHF radio challenges, including demands to alter course, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Friday, adding they could be part of an Iranian military exercise.
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 108,907 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
