Suez Canal shipping container smashes into bridge

06 December 2023 , 14:56

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The Suez Canal Authority has said its "dealing with the cessation of navigation" (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A huge shipping vessel has smashed into a bridge at the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority has said its "dealing with the cessation of navigation in the new canal from the east after a container ship collided with the Mansi bridge", AlQahera News reported.

But the Suez Canal Authority later confirmed the crash does not affect traffic along the canal, a waterway which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and runs for more than 120 miles. It took one decade to construct in the 19th century before it was opened in 1869. Shipping will therefore continue as normal.

It was initially thought the crash would cause heavy disruption to traffic along Suez Canal, but authorities have since addressed these concerns.

The collision comes on the day analysis showed any disruption to shipping via the Red Sea would affect the grain trade more than any other dry commodity. Some 323.7m tonnes of dry cargo — equivalent to almost 6.5% of seaborne dry bulk trade — passed through the Suez Canal in 2022, data shows.

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In March 2021, a Panama-flagged container ship, ran aground and became stuck across the southern section of the canal. The blockage prevented movement through the canal, caused nearly $10 billion (£8 billion) worth of disruptions in shipping traffic each day, and created a large traffic jam of ships on both sides.

When the Ever Given partially refloated almost a week after getting stuck in the Suez Canal, it underwent initial inspections before being moved. Space finally opened around the 400-metre (430-yard) long Ever Given.

Video posted on social media appeared to show the ship's stern had swung around. Ship-tracking service VesselFinder changed the ship's status to underway on its website on March 29, 2021.

The Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early on Tuesday, halting shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Rachel Hagan