Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced that four tugboats were deployed to carryout the towing operation of the container vessel ONE ORPHEUS after its steering failure as a result of its rudder breaking down which led to its collision with "El-Mansy" bridge.
This happened during its transit through the Canal amongst vessels of the north-bound convoy on its way from Singapore to the Netherlands.
H.E. clarified that immediately upon SCA's Main Navigation Control Center recieved the notification of the breaking down of the vessel's rudder at km 74 (Canal marking) which led to steering failure, the vessels behind it were directed to moor and drop anchor and 4 tugboats were immediately deployed.
The length of the vessel is 336 m., its beam is 46 m., and is of a tonnage of 101,000 tons. Work is currently underway to connect the towing lines to the vessel in preparation for towing it, after ensuring the integrity of its hull.
Adm. Rabiee sent a message of reassurance to the world that traffic through the Canal is flowing as normal; unaffected by this emergency. All south-bound vessels transited as normal, and north-bound traffic is also back to normal after vessels of that convoy were redirected from the New Suez Canal to the original Suez Canal.
H.E. emphasized that the SCA has the necessary salvage expertise as well as the navigational and technical capabilities to deal professionally with potential emergencies.
