Container ship collides with bridge in Suez Canal, traffic diverted

Convoys of ships coming from the south were being diverted along the original branch of the canal, the canal authority said.

 A tugboat works to refloat the Oil Products Tanker BURRI after it collided with LNG Tanker BW Lesmes in the waterway of the Suez Canal, Egypt, August 23, 2023 (photo credit: SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A tugboat works to refloat the Oil Products Tanker BURRI after it collided with LNG Tanker BW Lesmes in the waterway of the Suez Canal, Egypt, August 23, 2023
(photo credit: SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

 A container ship collided with a floating bridge in the eastern lane of the Suez Canal on Wednesday but the passage of ships through the waterway would not be interrupted, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.

Tugboats were working to tow the One Orpheus, which suffered a fault with its rudder while transiting the canal on its way from Singapore to the Netherlands, the authority said in a statement.

The incident occurred in the eastern lane of the middle section of the canal, built as an expansion that was completed in 2015.

Convoys of ships coming from the south were being diverted along the original branch of the canal, the canal authority said.

 A fisherman travels on a boat with his family in front of the Zim Europa container ship, in the Suez canal near Ismailia port city.  (credit: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH)
A fisherman travels on a boat with his family in front of the Zim Europa container ship, in the Suez canal near Ismailia port city. (credit: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH)

Works underway to expand Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is one of the world's most heavily used shipping lanes and an important source of foreign currency for Egypt.

Works are currently underway to expand the southern, single-lane section of the canal, after a giant container ship ran aground there in 2021, blocking traffic through the waterway for six days.