MSC megaship runs aground in Suez Canal

The 12,500-TEU containership MSC Fabiola was successfully refloated early Saturday morning, allowing vessel traffic in the important cargo gateway to resume as normal, according to a customer advisory from shipping agency GAC.    A Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) megavessel ran hard aground in the southern end of the Suez Canal on Thursday, blocking ship traffic in the important cargo gateway between Asia and the Middle East and Europe.
   The 12,500-TEU containership MSC Fabiola, operated by the German company Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG, ran aground at around 4:30 p.m. local time after reportedly experiencing engine trouble.
   Suez Canal authorities said southbound vessels would be delayed in the Great Bitter Lakes, while northbound traffic was suspended entirely on Friday.
   The Portuguese-flagged ship was successfully refloated with the assistance of tugs early Saturday morning, however, allowing the resumption of normal vessel traffic, according to a customer advisory from shipping agency GAC.
   “The containership that ran aground in the Suez Canal on Thursday afternoon (28 April) was refloated at around 01:20 hours local time this morning (30 April),” GAC said. “The vessel resumed its southbound transit to Suez escorted by five tugs”
   “According to information from the Suez Canal Authority movement section, the Southbound Convoy (currently at Great Bitter lakes) was due to resume transit at about 02:30 – 03:00, after which the Northbound Convoy would be rescheduled,” it added.
   The MSC Fabiola, which was en route from Singapore to Port Said, serves on the 2M Alliance’s AE20/Dragon string between Asia and the Mediterranean, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting. The service operates with 11 vessels with an average capacity of 13,018 TEUs and a full port rotation of Dalian, Xingang/Tianjin, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Chiwan, Yantian, Singapore, Port Said, Beirut, Gioia Tauro, La Spezia, Genoa, Marseilles-Fos, Barcelona, Valencia, Malta, Salalah, Singapore, Shanghai, and Dalian.