suez closure

[masterofnone]

As per tonights evening standard. A liberian reg tanker laden 84000t "failed to negotiate a curve" has closed the canal for the first time since1975. At least 60 ships backed up behind. Pilot presumably looking for new position.

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[jac]

Bet that will need an incident report or two.

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[bob_tyler]

Will obstructed ships be able to claim for losses against the obstructing vessel's insurance?

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[Althorne]

Bet it's the same crew from Mirabella V doing a short refresher course. /forums/images/icons/blush.gif

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[Trevethan]

It will open again today.

11:52 09Nov2004 RTRS-RPT-UPDATE 2- Stranded Suez tanker shifted, Canal to reopen Tues


ISMAILIA, Egypt, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A stranded oil tanker that caused the longest stoppage in Egypt's Suez Canal in almost 30 years has been shifted by tugs and shipping is expected to resume on Tuesday, a Suez Canal official said.
Navigation came to a standstill late on Saturday when the Liberian-flagged vessel Tropic Brilliance ran aground while passing through the canal, a key international trade waterway.
The Suez Canal Authority official said 25,000 tonnes of crude cargo had been removed from the tanker so it could be tugged to Port Said.
"It is now on its way to Port Said at the northern entrance of the canal," the official said, adding that the first convoy of some 46 vessels was preparing to move through the waterway.
He said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the incident, which port sources earlier said had caused more than 100 waiting vessels to be backed up inside and outside the canal.
Gulf Agency Company (GAC) shipping agents said the laden tanker became stranded after its steering failed. GAC said it suffered damage to its bow, rudder and propeller. It said no oil spill had been reported as a result of the grounding.
Canal sources said the closure was the first in almost three decades to last longer than a day.
The Canal closed during the 1967 Middle East war when Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula. It reopened in 1975. Since the reopening, shipping had previously been halted only for a matter of hours, shipping sources said.
According to the International Energy Agency, about 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil passes through the canal.
About 7.5 percent of the world's seaborne trade passes through the waterway, according to the port authority.
Last year, some 15,667 ships made the 12-hour journey through the canal, an average of 43 ships a day, according to industry daily Tradewinds. This year the daily average has been 47 vessels, it said.
The Suez Canal is a major source of hard currency revenue to Egypt. Officials estimate that daily canal losses caused by the closure were about $7 million.
((Writing by Tom Perry and Edmund Blair; Reuters Messaging: Thomas.Perry.reuters.com@reuters.net; email thomas.perry@reuters.com; Tel: +2 02 578 3290/1))

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Tuesday, 09 November 2004 11:52:06RTRS [nL09106734] {EN}ENDS

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