A Belgian aframax has been refloated following a grounding in the Suez Canal that disrupted traffic for a number of hours.
The 250-metre, 114,000-dwt Affinity V (built 2016) was bound for Saudi Arabia when it got stuck on Wednesday, close to the spot where Evergreen’s giant container ship Ever Given jammed in the vital waterway last year, choking supply chains and making global headlines.
The Guardian newspaper in the UK noted: “A tanker getting stuck used to be more the domain of niche business news, but that was before the Ever Given.”
In the case of the Singapore-flag Affinity V, however, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) tug teams were able to move the ship clear of the bottom and navigation was returned to normal.
George Safwat, a spokesman for the SCA, told Egyptian government-affiliated Extra News that the ship got stuck on Wednesday evening and was refloated five hours later.
The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement: “The tanker ran aground due to technical failure in the rudder which led to loss of steering ability.”
The aframax had arrived from Portugal and was en route to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Ship monitoring service TankerTrackers said the vessel appeared to have lost control while heading south.
Not fully laden
“She temporarily clogged up traffic and is now facing south again, but moving slowly by tugboat assistance,” the company said.
The vessel was reportedly only carrying 40% of its total crude capacity.
Owner Transpetrol of Belgium said in a statement that the vessel had a pilot on board at the time.
The incident happened south of the Bitter Lake between km markers 141 and 142.
“There was no pollution and no injuries among the 23 crew members,” the owner added.
“All the relevant authorities were informed, and Suez Canal Authority arranged tugs re-floated the vessel at around 0014 hrs local time,” Transpetrol said.
Damage investigation
“The canal, which had been temporarily blocked for traffic, reopened once the Affinity V was clear. The tanker has now safely cleared the Suez Canal and anchored at D1 Anchorage, Suez, at 0424 local time this morning,” the company added.
The ship is now awaiting class society and diver investigation to establish if there is any hull or technical damage.
The bridge’s black box will be analysed by a third party to help establish the cause of the incident, Transpetrol said.
The vessel has a clean port state control detention record from 11 inspections. Insurance is provided by Gard in Norway.
