Suez Canal still sees transit delays despite refloating of BP's LNG tanker: sources

The collision in the Suez Cana earlier this week, between an LNG tanker under time charter to BP and an oil products tanker, has led to slight delays in movement of traffic Aug. 24 in the internationally strategic waterway, while these ships remain at anchorage nearby, several shipping executives said.

Though the ships have been refloated and traffic resumed(opens in a new tab) but but there is a delay in the transit of the convoy, a Suez-based shipping agency executive told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

There are 49 and 46 ships respectively in the Aug. 24 south bound and north bound convoy and minor disruptions are happening in the traffic schedule, the executive said.

The Suez Canal Authority, or SCA officials could not be immediately reached for comment but shipping agents in the Suez region said that the SCA tugboats re-floated the Bw Lesmes and the Burri, so that they can be taken to the nearest point of clearance in the canal.

The Bw Lesmes is under time charter to energy giant, BP from the Bw Group. BP media team is yet to respond to request for comment.

Both the tankers' owners and operators will now have to pay to the SCA , refloating charges and also compensation, if any, said a maritime insurance executive. Alternatively, the payment guarantee can be provided by their respective insurance cover providers, the executive said.

Ships will also undergo inspections to get fitness certificates for their onward journeys, he added.

The BW Lesmes remains safely at anchorage while undergoing further inspection," a spokesperson for Bw LNG told S&P Global.

The collision between Bw Lesmes and the Burri comes close on the heels of another devastating incident earlier this month when a Suez Canal tugboat sank and one of its crew went missing after colliding with a Hongkong-flagged LPG tanker, the Chinagas Legend.

More than 10% of the global marine trade passes through the Suez Canal. During the height of the deadly coronavirus phase of 2021, a massive container ship, the Evergiven had got stuck in the canal, bringing both north and southbound trade to a standstill for almost a week.