By MarEx 2015-08-17 11:39:51
In the first incident since the Suez Canal’s August 6th expansion inauguration, the M/V Om el-Kheir caught fire at berth at Port Tawfik, which is at the canal’s southern entrance.
The Suez Canal Port Authority (SCA) and Red Sea Ports Authority (RSPA) rescue teams extinguished the fire and rescued the cargo vessel’s 13 crewmembers. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. Traffic at the southern entrance was unaffected by the incident.
The Om el-Kheir was enroute to Cambodia.
President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi inaugurated the newly expanded parallel canal to facilitate and accelerate ship transits through the system.