Grounded ship refloated in Egypt’s Suez Canal

Cairo, The Gulf Observer: A cargo ship carrying corn that went aground early on Monday in the Suez Canal was refloated and traffic through the crucial waterway was restored, Egyptian authorities said.

Adm. Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said the Marshall Islands-flagged MV Glory suffered a sudden technical failure while transiting through the canal, and the authority deployed four tugboats to help refloat it.

The vessel, which is owned by Greek firm Primera Shipping Inc., was heading to China before it broke down at the 38 kilometer (24 mile) -mark of the canal, near the city of Qantara in the province of Ismailia, he said.

After being refloated, the vessel was towed to a nearby maritime park to fix the problem, Rabei said. The canal’s media office shared images showing the vessel being pulled by tugboats.

Rabei did not elaborate on the nature of the technical failure. Parts of Egypt, including its northern provinces, experienced bad weather Sunday.