Wednesday, an oil tanker ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal, temporarily obstructing the artificial canal.

Osama Rabie, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, stated that the Singapore-flagged Affinity V became stopped in a one-lane section of the canal.

It appeared to have lost control in the river while traveling south, according to TankerTrackers.com on Twitter.

The tanker temporarily obstructed traffic until being aided by tugboats, and by Thursday morning, it was again looking south.

Mr. Rabie stated that five of the authority's tug boats were able to refloat the vessel through a coordinated effort.

According to him, a malfunction in the boat's steering mechanism caused it to strike the canal's bank.

The ship ran aground at approximately 7:15 p.m., Cairo time. It was afloat again almost five hours later, according to Suez Canal Authority spokesperson George Safwat, who talked to the government-affiliated satellite news program Extra News.

He stated that the ship was part of a convoy bound for the Red Sea.

Standard navigation for other ships through the canal has since resumed.

Every day, two convoys pass through the Suez Canal, one going for the Mediterranean and the other for the Red Sea.

The waterway separates the African continent from the Sinai Peninsula and serves as a vital route for oil, natural gas, and freight.

The Affinity V was constructed in 2016 and is 252 meters in length and 45 meters in width. Mr. Safwat said it sailed from Portugal to the Red Sea port of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday's incident was not the first time the canal was obstructed.

After being struck by a sandstorm in March 2021, the Panamanian-flagged container ship Ever Given collided with the bank of a one-lane section of the river.

The Japanese tanker obstructed the canal for six days until a flotilla of tugboats freed it in a vast rescue operation.

This caused traffic congestion that slowed global trade by $9 billion per day and stretched supply systems already weighed down by the coronavirus outbreak.

In September 2021, another large transport vessel became aground, and it took officials hours to dislodge it.

After the March 2021 incident, canal authorities widened and deepened the southern stretch of the canal where Ever Given ran aground.

About 10% of global trade passes via the canal, making it Egypt's most important source of foreign cash.

Authorities reported that 20,649 vessels went through the canal in 2018, a 10% increase from the previous year's 18,849 boats. In 2021, the canal's annual revenue was $6,3 billion, the highest in its history.