The Suez Canal re-opened following the strategic waterway's most serious closure in 30 years. Amira Ibrahim reports Over the last 50 years, the Suez Canal has been closed several times, either because of war or sabotage, but always due to tensions with Israel. The longest shutdown -- following the June 1967 war -- lasted eight years. Since its reopening in 1975, however, it has never been closed for more than a day. This week, the waterway was shut down for three days by a broken-down oil tanker. On Saturday afternoon, a Liberian-flagged vessel, the Tropical Brilliance, experienced steering gear failure and grounded itself across the canal at kilometre 73 of the 194km waterway. The tanker was part of a caravan consisting of 19 vessels heading south towards the Red Sea and Asia. The rest of the caravan, as well as another 20 ships heading north, could not pass as a result. "The ship suffered steer gear failure, and the captain nearly lost control, causing the 244-metre long vessel to rotate across the canal and ground itself all the way from the canal's eastern to its western bank. It looked very strange, much like a bridge had formed across the canal," said a canal engineer who witnessed the incident. Parts of the canal, which are up to 270 metres wide in some areas, allow for two-way traffic. The oil tanker, unfortunately, was crippled at a part where only one ship can pass. Canal officials said the ship suffered damage to its bow, rudder and propeller. Luckily, no oil was spilled. On Sunday, said Galal El-Deib, director of the Suez Canal Authority's technical maintenance sector, "attempts by eight tug boats to shift the 89,000-tonne oil tanker and free the waterway were not successful." El-Deib told Al-Ahram Weekly that on Monday, "we then used two tankers owned by the Public Petroleum Authority -- Al-Karnak and Al-Nabila -- to lighten the vessel's cargo in an attempt to re-float the tanker. Our efforts proved successful on Tuesday, when the tanker was re-floated after 25,000 tonnes of its load were transferred." The tanker is owned by a Russian company and managed out of Cyprus by Unicom, which released a statement indicating that Tropic Brilliance had not been involved in any significant incidents in the past. It also said the vessel's certificates were in full compliance with all requirements. Tropic Brilliance was dragged to the nearby Al- Balah anchorage on Tuesday morning for repairs and a diving inspection. "The ship will not be allowed to resume its trip before an accurate technical inspection is carried out in cooperation with the company that owns it, via their agent. So it will take time," El-Deib said. The Russian company will have to reimburse the Suez Canal authority for all the costs of the rescue operation. The authority will also be conducting an examination of the canal floor to make sure there was no damage done to the waterway itself. "If any damage is discovered, the Russian company will have to pay to fix it," El- Deib said. Officials said authorities are currently conducting a criminal investigation into the incident. "The Suez Canal is an international waterway, and we must make sure the incident was not deliberate," said a security source who asked for anonymity. The canal finally re-opened on Tuesday afternoon. According to El-Deib, canal officials were looking into a number of alternatives to help ensure that the ships that had been blocked in the canal over the past three days would make their way through faster than usual. In addition to the vessels that were already in the canal, more than 113 ships had been waiting at the canal's two entrances at Port Said and Suez. The three- day delay translated into serious losses for the owners of those ships and the cargo they were carrying. The delays, in turn, would probably also lead to more terminal congestion when they arrived at ports across Europe and Asia. For Egypt, the three-day blockage meant a loss of nearly $7 million in revenues per day. The waterway is one of Egypt's main sources of income, after tourism and remittances from Egyptian workers abroad. Between 1996 and 2003, the tunnel's annual revenue averaged $1.9 billion, compared to $3.6 billion from tourism and $3.1 billion in overseas transfers. The Suez Canal Authority expects revenues to hit a record $3 billion in 2004. The canal's revenues could be doubled if the government carries out expansion plans (which would allow vessels to cross the canal in both directions at the same time) that have been on hold for over a decade. Canal officials said they were still conducting feasibility studies on the project.
