Cargo Ship Blocks Suez Canal

A 93,000-ton cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal, stopping all transit of the waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Hong Kong-flagged Okal King Dor drifted at right angles to the canal about 10 km south of the midway city of Ismailiya. The ship was traveling north during a sandstorm when the incident happened at about 11 am local time (0900 GMT). It was not immediately clear what caused the ship to turn sideways in the canal, but the high wind was apparently a factor. Four tugboats realigned the ship and it resumed its course from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The canal was opened after eight hours. (Source: www.jamaicaobserver.com)