Another Giant Cargo Ship Got Stuck In The Suez Canal

Traffic through the Suez Canal was briefly halted after a massive cargo ship got stuck on Thursday (September 9). The Panamanian-flagged MV Coral Crystal ran aground just past the 33-mile mark, forcing officials to close the canal.

Crews managed to refloat the ship, which was carrying 43,000 tons of cargo, and the canal was reopened after about 15 minutes. The Coral Crystal, which is 738 feet long and 104 feet wide then resumed its journey to Port Sudan.

Officials said that four ships had to be diverted to a different lane as a result of the brief blockage. They did not say what caused the massive cargo ship to get stuck.

The brief closure of the canal comes just six months after the Ever Given ran aground during a sand storm. That blockage completely shut down the channel, and it took crews six days to free the 1,300-foot-long vessel. The shutdown cost the Suez Canal millions of dollars in lost revenue and upended global trade as ships were forced to take longer alternative routes around the canal.