THE Suez Canal has closed for the first time since 1975 following the grounding of a Liberian-flagged, double-hulled tanker. The Sovcomflot-owned and operated Tropic Brilliance grounded at 19:25 local time on Saturday 6 November close to the 73km marker. The 1992-built, 154,972dwt tanker is carrying a full load of crude oil but no pollution has occurred.<\/p>\n
The Suez Canal Authority is co-coordinating the re-floating operation and a salvage master from Smit is en-route to assist. A smaller tanker will arrive at the scene this afternoon, and the current plan is for this tanker to remove 25,000 tonnes of crude oil from the Tropic Brilliance.<\/p>\n
Egyptian newspaper Alakhaber has been reported as saying that the re-floating operation could take seven days. Unicom, the vessel’s manager, told Fairplay there is currently no timeframe for re-opening of the Canal, but this will become clearer when the salvage master and the offloading tanker are in position.<\/p>\n
GAC’s Suez Canal Service told Fairplay that there is a North-bound convoy halted mid-Canal. The Canal has a daily average of 47 vessel transits.<\/p>\n
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