A ship carrying grain from Ukraine to China is being taken for inspection after its engine lost power and briefly disrupted traffic in Egypt’s Suez Canal.
(Bloomberg) — A ship carrying grain from Ukraine to China is being taken for inspection after its engine lost power and briefly disrupted traffic in Egypt’s Suez Canal.
A leak from a cooling component caused bulk ship Glory to lose propulsion, Athens-based Target Marine SA said in a statement. The carrier didn’t run aground or touch the bottom of the vital trade waterway, the firm said. At least two port agents said earlier that it did.
The roughly 20 ships that were stopped from travelling south through the canal were set to resume their voyages with minor delays at 11 a.m., Leth Agencies, which provides services to vessels going through the Suez, said in a Tweet.
The Glory is designed to transport unpackaged commodity cargoes like grains. It’s just over half the length of the Ever Given, a massive container ship that blocked the Suez in 2021, roiling world trade.
The Suez Canal Authority said the ship was being assisted by tugboat after a “sudden technical failure.”
The vessel collected almost 66,000 tons of corn from Ukraine in December and was heading to China, according to a document detailing cargoes shipped under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The initiative enabled food exports from Ukraine to resume after they were disrupted by Russia’s invasion.
The Suez was blocked for almost a week in 2021 when the 400-meter-long (1,312 feet) Ever Given container ship got stuck lengthwise across the waterway, backing up marine traffic in both directions. The incident roiled global seaborne trade.
The Glory is 225 meters long, according to the website of Greek operator Target Marine SA. The canal itself is roughly 300 meters wide.
The cooling component that leaked has been replaced and the ship’s main engine has been fully operational since 11:10 a.m. local time, Target Marine said, confirming that it was heading to an anchorage site for inspection.
–With assistance from Salma El Wardany, Jack Wittels and Megan Durisin.
(Updates with comments from ship’s operator from second paragraph.)
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