A Suez Canal tugboat sank and a crew member was missing after the vessel collided with a Hong Kong-flagged tanker, the authorities in charge of the key waterway said. A salvage team had located the wreckage following the accident Saturday and the waterway was being cleared, the Suez Canal Authority said. The team rescued six of the seven crew from the sunken tug boat and a search was ongoing for the missing crew member. Northbound traffic was briefly interrupted but southbound vessels were not affected, it said.
The vessel involved in the collision was the Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker Chinagas Legend, which was heading from Singapore to the United States. The 230-metre (755-foot) ship was carrying 52,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas. Brief disruptions caused by ships breaking down or running aground are common in the waterway, through which about 10 percent of global maritime trade passes.
In March 2021, the giant container ship Ever Given caused a nearly week-long stoppage in Suez traffic after it became lodged diagonally in the waterway. The disruption cost billions of dollars in shipping delays, with Egypt losing between $12 million and $15 million for every day of the closure. The canal is a major source of much-needed foreign currency for cash-strapped Egypt, earning it $8 billion in transit fees in 2022.
