Traffic was unaffected after a collision between two Greek product tankers in the Suez Canal on Tuesday.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement that the minor incident took place in the Great Bitter Lake as the ships were waiting in the anchorage area.
The 74,000-dwt LR1 Aligote (built 2010) was preparing to leave while the 110,000-dwt LR2 Lyric Magnolia (built 2016) was still anchored, SCA chairman Osama Rabie said.
The accident was described as minor.
An initial inspection report showed no significant damage nor any spills in the vicinity of the tankers, Rabie added.
The SCA blamed the incident on increased wind speeds in the area.
Rabie said the authority's marine rescue team was immediately dispatched to inspect the ships.
A detailed report on the technical condition of the ships is being prepared as part of a comprehensive examination, to allow the vessels’ journeys to resume through the canal on Wednesday morning.
The Lyric Magnolia is due to head to the port of Jizan in Saudi Arabia, while the Aligote was en route to Suez.
The Marshall Islands-flag Aligote is operated by Roxana Shipping and the Bahamas-flag LR2 is owned by Orpheus Marine Transport Corp (OMTC).
Roxana told TradeWinds its ship suffered minor non-structural damage to the forecastle bulwark.
The manager of the Lyric Magnolia said the tanker was anchored when the Aligote made contact by way of the port side, amidships area.
“Our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of the crew. This includes both physical, as well as emotional damage,” the company added.
“We can confirm that Lyric Magnolia has suffered damage and we are assessing the extent of this damage. We can however confirm that no pollution occurred as a result of the allision. This is a major relief, and the incident could have been so much worse if the vessel was fully loaded, rather than in ballast condition,” the statement continued.
Lyric Magnolia remained at anchorage and further investigations were underway prior to its safe sailing to a yard for repairs.
The last AIS update, 21 hours ago, for the Aligote showed the vessel as anchored in the canal, having left Tunisia on 30 March.
The Lyric Magnolia's last update was also 21 hours ago. The tanker left Denmark on 18 March.
The Aligote has insurance cover through the Swedish Club and the Lyric Magnolia is entered in the London P&I Club.
