Ship Filled with Ukrainian Corn Runs Aground in Suez Canal

A container ship carrying over 65,000 metric tons of Ukrainian corn ran aground in the Suez Canal on Monday, evoking nervous recollections of the March 2021 disaster in which a similar ship called MV Ever Given blocked the vital canal for six agonizing days.

Fortunately, the ship that ran aground on Monday, MV Glory, was refloated in a matter of hours without severe disruption to canal traffic.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said Monday that MV Glory suffered an unspecified “sudden technical failure” while transiting the canal. Observers noted northern Egypt had some rough weather on Sunday, which might have either caused the technical failure or exacerbated the navigational challenges resulting from it.

Adm. Rabiee: Navigation through the Canal is uninterrupted and the bulk carrier GLORY equipment failure is being dealt with professionally during its transit… For more detailshttps://t.co/Tkk8iY5vzZ pic.twitter.com/gAX9fBniJw

— هيئة قناة السويس Suez Canal Authority (@SuezAuthorityEG) January 9, 2023

“Traffic through the Canal was uninterrupted as 26 North-bound vessels are already in the waterway and (a) South-bound convoy will resume its journey right upon the SCA tugboats-assisted transit of MV Glory,” said Suez Canal chief officer Admiral Ossama Rabei.

Firm says cargo vessel ran aground in Egypt’s Suez Canal https://t.co/W4EaMac9Qi

— KMET1490AM (@KMETRadio) January 9, 2023

According to the SCA’s media department, the ship ran aground at roughly 5:00 a.m., coming to rest against the west bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal without turning lengthwise to block it, as MV Ever Given did in 2021.

Four of the SCA’s most powerful tugboats were assigned to refloat the container ship, a task they accomplished with minimal disruption to traffic, according to Adm. Rabei.

“Maritime traffic through the canal is back to normal. We dealt professionally with the motor malfunction of the Glory’s machinery that happened during its transit through the canal,” he said.

Rabei said the ship has been towed to a wider part of the canal, where it can rest safely without disrupting the passage of other ships while repairs are made.

MV Glory was about 24 miles into the 120-mile Suez Canal when it experienced its technical malfunction. The Marshall Islands-flagged container ship departed from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on Christmas Day, bound for China with its massive cargo of corn. The ship passed inspection in Istanbul on January 3.