Ship traffic through the Suez Canal is continuing normally in both directions after the general cargo vessel FENER ran aground outside the canal’s navigational channel near Port Said, the Suez Canal Authority said.
In the statement, SCA chairman and managing director Admiral Ossama Rabiee said “navigation through the Canal is proceeding normally in both directions and has not been affected” by the incident.
The grounding occurred in the western anchorage area north of Port Said, about five miles west of the canal’s northern entrance in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel is 122 metres long, has a 3.5-metre draft and a 4,000-ton tonnage. The vessel was sailing from Turkey to load a shipment of salt at East Port Said Port and had requested to anchor while weather conditions improved. It later received a notification that a breach in one of the holds allowed water to enter see the hull. The shipmaster then moved the vessel south of the anchorage area and deliberately grounded it “to prevent it from sinking” before the rescue team arrived.
On 14 January 2026, the SCA said its maritime units rescued all 12 crew members after the vessel’s list increased and it came close to sinking. The authority said it received the distress call at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, prepared two tugboats and deployed three BAHAR-class speedboats to evacuate the crew and secure the vessel. All crew members were reported to be in good health, with medical assistance provided to one crew member with a dislocated shoulder.
The Suez Canal Authority is an Egyptian state body established by law to manage, operate and maintain the Suez Canal and its associated facilities, including navigation services, traffic control, dredging and maritime safety operations along the waterway.
