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The tanker ran aground and blocked traffic through the Suez Canal. The channel is planned to be expanded in 2023

Author:
Anna Kholodnova
Date:

An oil tanker ran aground due to a technical malfunction of the rudder and blocked traffic in the Suez Canal on the evening of August 31.

Reuters writes about it.

The Affinity V has blocked the southern part of the channel. Traffic was restored after midnight local time. Now the ship is being towed.

"It has temporarily blocked traffic and has now turned south again but is moving slowly with the help of a tug," vessel monitoring service TankerTrackers stated on Twitter.

The incident occurred on a single-lane section of the channel, where the cargo ship Ever Given ran aground in March 2021. After Ever Given ran aground, the Suez Canal Authority announced that they were speeding up the expansion and deepening of the canal. The works are planned to be completed in 2023.