A cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain ran aground briefly in the Suez Canal before being refloated and towed, according to the Egyptian authority that manages the vital waterway.
The incident involving the 225-metre Marshall Islands-registered M/V Glory had sparked fears of a repeat of the blockade in 2021, when the large container ship Ever Given became wedged diagonally in the channel.
That week-long closure of the man-made waterway linking Asia and Europe cost billions of dollars due to shipping delays. An employee of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) died while trying to free the mega ship.
SCA chief Osama Rabie gave the all clear on Monday, adding that traffic was moving normally in the Suez Canal after the authority mobilized four tugboats to tow the ship and allowed it to resume journey.
“The canal is on track to record 51 ships passing in both directions on Monday,” he said.
The smoothness of traffic through the canal is crucial for Egypt, which has suffered an economic crisis during which its currency has lost 75% of its value in less than a year.
The waterway, used for about 10% of global maritime trade, is one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange earnings, earning more than $7 billion annually.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last year approved a project to widen and deepen the southern section of the canal where the Ever Given ran aground.
The ship became stranded across the waterway when visibility dropped sharply during a sandstorm, disrupting trade flows for nearly a week.
According to the SCA, Egypt lost between $12 million and $15 million each day of the closure, while insurers estimated that global maritime trade lost billions in daily revenue.
Monday’s incident sparked fears of an equally costly shutdown.
The Glory was passing through the canal on its way from Turkey to China when it suffered a technical failure, according to the SCA.
The ship was carrying a shipment of corn from Ukraine, under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.
The blockade was first reported on Twitter by the Norwegian company Leth, a shipping agency for many ships in the Suez Canal.
“M/V Glory ran aground while joining a southbound convoy near al-Qantara,” he tweeted. “Suez Canal Authority tugs are trying to refloat the ship.”
Leth later reported that the vessel had been refloated and that 21 southbound vessels would begin or resume their transits with only minor delays expected.
In September, the oil tanker Affinity V was briefly grounded due to technical damage to the rudder, according to authorities.