Cargo ship runs aground in Suez Canal, traffic not impacted

CAIRO (AP) — A cargo vessel ran aground in the Suez Canal on Sunday, but traffic through the global waterway was not impacted, Egyptian authorities said.

Adm. Ossama Rahi, chief of the Suez Canal Authority said that the Liberia flagged MSC Istanbul had become stuck on a Suez Canal two-lane stretch. To help the ship float, tugboats were used to assist him.

Rabei explained that the convoys continued to transit the waterway in good condition despite this situation. He did not go into detail about what caused the ship and crew to become stuck. Suez Canal permits passage for two vessels per day. The MSC Istanbul was finally refloated on Sunday, after five hours of work.

The MSC Istanbul was built in 2015 by the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. It measures 399m (1,309ft) and is 54m (177ft) wide according to Marine Traffic.

The length of this vessel is very similar to the Ever Given container ship, which was a huge cargo container that crashed into an American bank.