Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, stated, today, Tuesday, that navigation through the Canal is proceeding normally in both directions and has not been affected by the grounding incident of the general cargo vessel FENER, which occurred outside the Canal's navigational channel in the western anchorage area north of Port Said city, at a distance of 5 miles west of the northern entrance of the Suez Canal in the Mediterranean Sea.
The vessel is 122 meters in length, with a draft of 3.5 meters, and a tonnage of 4,000 tons.
The Chairman of the Authority pointed out that the vessel was en route from Turkey to load a shipment of salt at East Port Said Port. After departing the port, and due to poor weather conditions, the vessel’s master requested to drop anchor in the anchorage area in Port Said until the weather conditions improved.
Admiral Rabiee added that the Suez Canal Authority's maritime salvage team received a notification from the vessel reporting a breach in one of the holds, which had resulted in water entering the hull. As a precautionary measure, the vessel's master moved south of the anchorage area to aground the vessel to prevent it from sinking, prior to the arrival of the maritime salvage team.
Admiral Ossama Rabiee conveyed a message of reassurance that navigation through the Canal was proceeding at its normal rates and was not affected by the grounding incident, which occurred outside the Suez Canal's navigational channel.
H.E. added that the Authority's Crisis Management Center is closely monitoring developments as part of its responsibilities to coordinate with external entities in managing incidents occurring outside the Canal's navigational channel.
Admiral Rabiee affirmed the Authority's readiness to cooperate and provide necessary assistance should the need arise. In this regard, H. E. highlighted the Authority's comprehensive system, which includes highly skilled navigational personnel, accumulated expertise in maritime salvage operations, and specialized marine units dedicated to maritime salvage, navigational safety, and pollution control.
It is worth noting that the Canal’s navigation statistics, today, witnessed the transit of 35 vessels from both directions, with a total net tonnage of 1.6 million tons.