"As soon as the main navigation control center received notification of a malfunction of the SEAVIGOUR oil tanker, which broke down at the 12th kilometer of the canal as it was traveling as part of the northern convoy en route from Russia to China, three rescue tugs were immediately dispatched … Work is currently underway to connect the tugboats to the ship in preparation for towing," head of Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said in a statement.
Rabie added that regular traffic coming from the north will resume after the oil tanker is moved to the 17th kilometer of the canal, while traffic going to the south will begin on condition that the vessels wait in the Great Lakes area until the towing is completed.
The administration has the necessary experience and navigation means to handle potential emergencies in a professional manner, the statement said.
Later on Sunday, Rabie said that traffic had resumed in both directions as the oil tanker's malfunction was quickly fixed once the vessel was towed.