Suez Canal panic as another hulking ship gets stuck in world’s most important shipping lane for HOURS sparking gridlock
A HUGE boat gridlocked one of the world's busiest shipping lanes for hours after becoming stuck.
It comes two years after the Ever Given left Egypt's Suez Canal blocked for six days.
Today the 623ft long Xin Hai Tong 23 became jammed at the southern mouth of the water.
Leth Agencies, which oversees traffic in the canal, said the vessel was grounded at 4am local time, disrupting at least two convoys of ships.
Canal authorities deployed tugboats after being alerted of an engine malfunction.
The boat was successfully refloated after being stranded for several hours.
Leth said the process was briefly delayed by the failure of the ship's winch.
The authority confirmed that "shipping activity in both directions would return to normal as soon as the towing process is finished, as a precautionary measure."
The ship had originated from Dhuba port in Saudi Arabia.
It is owned by Xiang B12 HK International Ship Lease and managed by Tosco Keymax International Ship Management.
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Approximately 12 per cent of the world's trade moves through the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
During strong winds in 2021, a huge container ship, the Ever Given, became jammed across Suez Canal, halting traffic in both directions for six days and disrupting global trade.
Last year, tug boats refloated an oil tanker that was briefly stranded in the canal after to a technical fault with its rudder, while the breakdown of a container ship in the canal caused minor delays in March.