Suez Canal blocked again before ship refloated

Another container ship ran aground in the Suez Canal yesterday, blocking the shipping lane—but this time, only briefly.

The Coral Crystal, heading south and carrying 43,000 tonnes of cargo, was free within 15 minutes, just long enough to earn itself an Andy Warhol measure of fame, but not enough to launch it to the Ever Given’s stratospheric level of container ship celebrity.

Fortunately it also ran aground in a northern section of the canal that has two parallel lanes, allowing traffic to be diverted without much disruption.

In March, the Ever Given lodged itself into a section in the south that only has one lane, fully blocking the route for six days.

Egyptian port authorities detained the vessel for months as they entered into a compensation dispute with the ship owner. The final settlement was not disclosed.

Following its release in August, the Ever Given made its way through the Suez Canal again later that month, bow held high with as much dignity as it could muster.

In May, the Suez Canal Authority started dredging work to widen the single lane section and to extend the second lane by about six miles.

Source: Business Insider, Reuters