A Suez Canal tugboat has sunk after colliding with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker in the strategically important waterway, the canal authority said on Saturday and a tugboat crew member died, his family said.
Seven people were on board the tugboat ‘Fahd,’ the canal authority’s head, Osama Rabie, said in a statement, adding that rescue work was underway with a crane dispatched to recover the sunken vessel.
Two canal sources said Chinagas Legend was unharmed by the collision, was functioning normally and had anchored at Port Said.
The dead crew member, Sayed Moussa, was a mechanic from Port Said, his family said.
Rabie said the collision had occurred while the tanker, ‘CHINAGAS LEGEND,’ was in the Ballah area, heading south on its journey from Singapore to the United States.
‘The tanker is currently waiting in Port Said until the completion of the procedures related to the accident,’ Rabie said.
The tanker is 230 meters long and 36 meters wide and carries a cargo of 52,000 tons of LPG. — Al-Arabiya
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon