Tanker Breaks Down in Suez Canal, but Traffic Not Disrupted

17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. (dpa)
17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. (dpa)
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Tanker Breaks Down in Suez Canal, but Traffic Not Disrupted

17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. (dpa)
17 November 2019, Egypt, Ismailia: A container ship sails through the Suez Canal. (dpa)

A tanker transporting liquefied natural gas broke down in the Suez Canal on Wednesday but traffic in the global waterway was unaffected, a canal spokesperson said.

The Bahamas-flagged Grace Emilia suffered a malfunction of its rudder and tugboats pulled it to the side of the canal to allow other vessels to pass, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt's Suez Canal Authority.

He told The Associated Press that the north-bound tanker stopped working in the southern part of the canal, where a two-lane waterway enables ships to transit.

Canal services provider Leth Agencies reported the incident in a Twitter post, saying vessels “can pass in both directions.”

Safwat, the spokesperson, said 68 vessels transited the canal on Wednesday. He said the canal tugs were towing the Grace Emilia to Little Bitter Lake to repair the malfunction.

Built in 2021, the Grace Emilia is 297 meters (975 feet) long and 46 meters (151 feet) wide. Its cargo tank capacity is 174,000 cubic meters.

According to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking service provider, the Grace Emilia sails between the port of Dabhol in India and Cove Point in Maryland.

Last month, a cargo ship carrying corn went aground in the canal before it was refloated to allow the resumption of traffic.

In March 2021, the Panama-flagged Ever Given, a colossal container ship, crashed into a bank on a single-lane stretch of the canal, blocking the waterway for six days.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, a pivotal source of foreign currency to Egypt.

The Suez Canal Authority said 23,851 vessels passed through the waterway last year, compared to 20,649 vessels in 2021. The canal’s annual revenues reached $8 billion, the highest in its history.



Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Army Says Khartoum State ‘Completely Free’ of RSF

Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese women sell vegetables at an open market in the East Nile district of Khartoum on May 19, 2025. (AFP)

Sudan’s military on Tuesday said it took full control of the Greater Khartoum region after a long-running battle against remnants of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the region’s west and south. 

The development was the latest victory for the military in its more than two years of fighting against the RSF, a civil war that has pushed parts of the country into famine. 

Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sudanese military, said forces retook the Greater Khartoum region, which include the capital city of Khartoum and its sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, or Bahri. 

“Khartoum state is completely free of rebels,” he declared in a video statement, referring to the RSF. 

Earlier, Abdullah said troops battled RSF fighters in the western and southern areas of Omdurman as part of a large-scale operation to kick the paramilitaries out of their pockets there. 

There was no immediate comment from the RSF. 

Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in Khartoum and other parts of the country. The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher. 

The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine. 

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the UN and international rights groups.