Suez Canal traffic held up after container ship hits bridge

Traffic on a northbound lane of Egypt's Suez Canal was halted briefly on Wednesday after control of a container ship was lost and the vessel hit a floating bridge, officials said.

The Suez Canal Authority sent four tug boats to an eastern portion of the waterway to tow the ship, which ran into the bridge after its steering mechanism malfunctioned, a representative told The National.

The Netherlands-bound One Orpheus, which is 336 metres in length and 46m wide, was reportedly carrying 101,000 tonnes of cargo, the authority said.

Traffic through the canal was suspended after the incident but would return to normal once the ship was towed to safety, the authority’s chairman Admiral Osama Rabie said.

Adm Rabie said only northbound maritime traffic through the canal was affected as the incident occurred in a double-laned stretch, leaving a path clear for southbound vessels.

The ship was travelling along a part of canal near the city of Ismailia when it hit the Ahmed Mansy floating bridge.

The bridge was completed in 2017 to connect the canal’s eastern and western banks.

Maritime accidents are relatively uncommon on the Suez Canal, which receives about 12 per cent of the world’s maritime traffic each year.

In March 2021, a giant container ship called the Ever Given blocked the waterway for six days, causing billions of dollars of losses to shipping companies worldwide.

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars

Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:

1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4

COMPANY%20PROFILE

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

MATCH INFO

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.

US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.