Wagdy Abdelaziz
Adm. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, announced the success of the SCA’s maritime salvage tugboats in handling the navigational emergency and refloating the bulk carrier XIN TAIN YUAN upon its grounding due to a technical failure sustained by its rudder during its transit through the Canal amongst vessels of the northern convoy en route from Denmark to Singapore.
The vessel sailing under the flag of Panama is 225 m. in length, has a beam of 32.2 m. and a tonnage of 41 thousand tons.
H.E. explained that upon the Main Navigation Control Center received notification of the Vessel’s grounding at the km 87 (Canal marking), four SCA tugboats were deployed immediately to carry out the necessary towage to return it to its course and refloat it once more.
Adm. Rabiee highlighted that the SCA tugboats have handled the emergency that occured today at noon successfully and resolved it at exactly 4 pm after the towage maneuvers successfully refloated the vessel and redirected it back to its course. As a part of the navigational safety procedures, they escorted it to the Great Bitter Lakes after its crew succeeded in fixing the technical failure.
Adm. Rabiee stated that the refloating operation was carried out with complete efficiency, with tugboats deployed according to their bollard pull capacity, based on precise calculations by the Crisis Management Committee and in cooperation with the relevant SCA Departments: Transit Department, Shipyards Department, and the maritime salvage team, to ensure the vessel’s safety and its secure release.
Adm. Rabiee commended the participation of the tugboat “Azm 2,” one of the newest tugboats in the Suez Canal Authority’s fleet, with a bollard pull of 90 tons, for the first time in the salvage operations, and its outstanding performance in towing and salvage operations.
H. E. also reassured that navigation through the Canal from the south was not affected. He indicated that navigation for the north convoy is scheduled to resume as soon as the vessel reaches the Great Bitter Lakes area for the necessary inspections by the maritime salvage team to ensure the safety of the vessel’s hull. The vessel will then resume its voyage at the end of the convoy after confirming its technical soundness.
The Chairman further affirmed the Canal’s readiness to handle emergency navigational situations in accordance with crisis management protocols, with each case addressed through tailored measures requiring accurate, prompt, and proper response to resolve issues and maintain the regular flow of navigation through the Canal.
Adm. Rabie expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Crisis Management Committee for their professional handling of the situation and their efforts to ensure the safety of the vessel and its crew. He emphasized that the Suez Canal Authority possesses the human expertise and technical capabilities necessary to efficiently and effectively manage challenging situations and navigational emergencies.
It is worth noting that today, Thursday, the Canal is witnessing the transit of 50 vessels from both directions, with a total net tonnage of 2.2 million tons.