Another giant vessel gets briefly stranded in Suez Canal, one week after Ever Given freed from waterway

The M/T Rumford found itself stranded in a narrow section of the Suez Canal on Tuesday, a short sail north from where the Ever Given blocked the water in previous weeks. Online vessel trackers say the ship is now moving again.

The vitally important maritime trade route was blocked for approximately two hours on Tuesday, as the M/T Rumford reportedly experienced engine problems while traversing a narrow stretch of water in the Suez Canal. 

A trade source informed Reuters that the canal authority had sent tugboats Tim Hope and Mosaed 3 to aid the stricken tanker. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) informed Reuters that the issue had only lasted about 10 minutes and “was fixed.” 

Online platform Vessel Finder shows the M/T Rumford travelling north through the canal and approaching the end of the narrow passage where the Ever Given was stuck before coming to a halt. 

Data provided online shows the oil tanker was stationary for nearly two hours, between 8:14 GMT and 9:59 GMT. The flow of vessels through the strait can be seen coming to a halt in an animation published by Tanker Trackers on Twitter. 

On Monday last week, the Ever Given, one of the world’s biggest cargo ships, was freed from the banks of the canal after it blocked the waterway for nearly a week. The world’s largest integrated shipping company, Maersk, has warned that the ramifications on shipping and the global supply chain may take months to unravel. 

Some superstitious people have suggested that Egypt’s recent misfortune – including the Suez Canal blockages, two trains colliding with each other, a fire at a garment factory, and the collapse of a residential building – is linked to the state’s decision to rehouse 22 mummies to a new resting place, invoking an ancient curse of the pharaohs. 

On Saturday evening, Egypt held a glamourous parade as it moved 18 mummified kings and queens from the famous museum on Tahrir Square to a new state-of-the-art facility five kilometers away. Disturbing the ancient rulers of Egypt from their rest has often been considered a taboo. Supposedly, an inscription found on Tutankhamun's tomb reads: “Death will come swiftly to those who disturb the tomb of the king.”

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