Ship Suffers Engine Trouble in Suez Canal, No Impact on Traffic

The Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is pictured from the window of a commercial plane flying over Egypt, December 18, 2019. Picture taken December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is pictured from the window of a commercial plane flying over Egypt, December 18, 2019. Picture taken December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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Ship Suffers Engine Trouble in Suez Canal, No Impact on Traffic

The Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is pictured from the window of a commercial plane flying over Egypt, December 18, 2019. Picture taken December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is pictured from the window of a commercial plane flying over Egypt, December 18, 2019. Picture taken December 18, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

A container ship broke down in the Suez Canal on Friday but was refloated and repaired with no impact on traffic in the waterway, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.

The 353-metre (1,158-foot) Maersk Emerald experienced sudden engine failure near Ismailia during its passage southwards through the canal but was refloated by tugs and went to a waiting area for technical checks, the SCA and canal sources said.

During the incident, some ships were diverted through a second lane created during an expansion of part of the canal completed in 2015, according to an SCA statement.

Shipping firm Leth Agencies also reported that traffic in the canal was normal after the Maersk Emerald had been refloated, Reuters reported.

Another container ship, the Ever Given, was grounded for six days in March across the southernmost section of the canal, blocking traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade.



UNRWA 'Very Near' Possible Breaking Point in Gaza Operation, Head Says

12 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip after thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation there. Photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip after thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation there. Photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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UNRWA 'Very Near' Possible Breaking Point in Gaza Operation, Head Says

12 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip after thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation there. Photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
12 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Tents for displaced people are crowded west of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip after thousands of Palestinians fled Rafah after the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation there. Photo: Saher Alghorra/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The UN Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in the Gaza Strip due to increasingly complicated conditions, its head said on Wednesday.

"I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won't be able anymore to operate," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told journalists at a news conference in Berlin.

"We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don't know. But we are very near of that," he said, Reuters reported.

He said the agency was facing a combination of a financial and political threats to its existence, in addition to difficulties in day-to-day operations, as aid is even more desperately needed against the threat of disease and famine.

He said there was a real risk, heading into winter, with people's immune systems weakened, that famine or acute malnutrition could become a likelihood.

UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza.

Israeli leaders in January accused UNRWA staff of collaborating with Hamas militants in Gaza, leading some donors to suspend funding, although many of those decisions have since been reversed. The UN launched an investigation into Israel's accusations and dismissed nine staff.