Adm. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, announced today the success of the SCA's maritime salvage units in responding to the distress call of the barge SUEZ 2 which is affiliated to the petroleum services company "Rakeen".
That is in addition to conducting the necessary salvage works as well as rescuing its crew and transferring its shipment after the fire had broken out during the barge's presence in the waiting area outside the Canal’s navigation waterway western of the Gulf of Suez.
H.E. explained that immediately upon the Main Traffic Control Center received the call from the Shipmaster of the vessel RAWAN that a fire has broken out on board the barge SUEZ 2 as it was completing the transfer operation of an oil shipment to his ship in the waiting area E10 outside the Canal’s navigation waterway yesterday evening, the SCA immediately took the necessary procedures and deployed its marine units to the incident's location to handle the emergency.
The SCA Chairman mentioned that the tugboat AMIN ZEID, of a bollard pull capacity of 75–80 tons., one of SCA's recently built tugboats, was deployed to assist in firefighting and cooling operations aimed at bringing the fire under control and preventing it from breaking out once more. Three SCA's launches were additionally deployed to the incident location to support the transfer of the barge to a safer location.
Three of the four crew members on board were transported by SCA ambulances to the Suez Health Insurance hospital. Search operations, conducted by the SCA's marine units, to rescue the still-missing fourth crew member are still underway, under the supervision of the Port Tawfik Transit Office.
In a reassuring statement, Adm. Ossama Rabiee confirmed that efforts to contain the emergency were carried at full pace, to ensure the safety of vessels berthed at the Suez Waiting Area. Navigation has since returned to normal, with vessels joining the northbound convoy as scheduled in the early hours of the morning.
According to H.E, the Suez Canal Authority has recently introduced a whole host of comprehensive maritime and logistical services designed to accommodate the needs of its clients under both normal and emergency conditions. He added that SCA's marine units had safely and expeditiously transferred the oil shipment aboard the barge to the AMERICANA, a barge operated by Rakeen Company. The SUEZ 2 barge was then safely towed to the Zaytiyat Port by midnight.
Adm. Rabiee concluded his statement by reaffirming the SCA's complete operational readiness to professionally respond to any potential emergencies through an integrated system comprising highly qualified maritime personnel with extensive experience in salvage operations, supported by specialized marine salvage units, navigational safety, and pollution control.
It is worth noting that today, a total of 11 vessels have transited the Suez Canal from the south, in addition to 19 vessels from the north, at a total net tonnage of 1.5 million tons.
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