The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced the transit resumption of the northbound convoy’s remaining vessels via the Canal’s eastern bypass at KM 51.
A statement issued by the authority indicated: “The recovering operation of the sunken tugboat is set to begin after the transit of the last vessel of the northbound convoy.”
The tugboat sank on Saturday after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker though shipping traffic in the strategically important waterway was largely unaffected.
Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the SCA, affirmed that the maritime salvage team successfully located the sunken tugboat at km 51.300.
“The safety of vessels’ transit shall be maintained by using warning buoys that will surround the sunken tugboat’s location until its recovery,” Rabiee highlighted.
The Chairman stated that a crew member of the authority’s tugboat “Fahd” died, while the other six crew members were rescued and transferred to the hospital for further care.
He underlined that the collision had occurred while the tanker, “CHINAGAS LEGEND,” was in the Ballah area, heading south on its journey from Singapore to the United States.
“The tanker is currently waiting in Port Said until the completion of the procedures related to the accident,” he said.
The tanker is 230 meters long and 36 meters wide and carries a cargo of 52,000 tons of LPG.
