An oil tanker broke down within the Suez Canal on Sunday, disrupting site visitors within the very important world waterway. 

The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a malfunction on the 12 km (7.5 mile) mark, stated George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt's Suez Canal Authority.

It stopped in a single-lane part and was towed away by tugs to a double-lane stretch on the 17km (10.5 mile) mark.

The breakdown disrupted eight different ships behind the Seavigour - which measures 274m (899ft) lengthy and 48.63m (159ft) extensive.

It is the newest ship to trigger disruption lately after breaking down or working aground.

In March 2021, container ship the Ever Given crashed right into a financial institution on a single-lane stretch, blocking the canal for six days and inflicting enormous delays in world commerce.

A Liberia-flagged ship additionally ran aground in March this 12 months however was refloated a couple of hours later.

On May 25, a Hong Kong-flagged ship additionally briefly blocked the canal earlier than being refloated.

The canal opened in 1869 and is a vital buying and selling route for oil, pure gasoline and cargo. Around 10% of world commerce flows by way of it.

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Some 23,851 vessels handed by way of the waterway final 12 months, in contrast with 20,649 in 2021.

Revenue earned from the canal reached a file $8bn (£6.4bn) final 12 months.

Content Source: information.sky.com