Suez Canal

Crude spill in Suez Canal

Anti-pollution teams were tackling a crude spill from the VLCC AI Samidoon (built 1992) in the Suez Canal on Wednesday.

The Caption of the 285,000 dwt, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) ship was reported by the state-owned Alakhbar newspaper as saying a minor side collusion with a barge caused the leak.

The vessel was carrying 161,000 tonnes of crude north in the canal and was spotted on Tuesday evening with a 10-mile trail of oil behind it.

The incident disrupted traffic in the vital Egyptian waterway.

In 2001, the tanker was held by Chinese port-state control inspectors for a week after cracks in its hull were detected.