A Hong Kong ship briefly blocks the Suez Canal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Hong Kong-flagged ship was briefly stranded in Egypt’s crucial Suez Canal, though authorities said they had been able to refloat it after it temporarily blocked traffic Thursday morning. .

The Xin Hai Tong 23 got stuck in the southern access of the Canal, according to monitoring data. Leth Agencies, which monitors traffic in the fairway, acknowledged the incident. About two hours later he reported that the problem had been resolved.

The ship was a freighter about 190 meters (625 ft) in length.

The Ever Given, a huge container ship that hit the side of the canal in March 2021, and was stuck in a one-way stretch in March 2021, was bigger. A major rescue effort by a flotilla of tugboats, combined with the tides, succeeded in freeing the ship six days later. Hundreds of ships had been waiting to cross the canal until the gigantic ship was released.