Suez Canal tugboat sinks after colliding with oil tanker

CAIRO, Aug 5 (Reuters) – A Suez Canal tugboat sank after colliding with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker in the strategically important waterway, the canal authority and a member of the government said on Saturday. the tugboat’s crew died, his family said.

The tanker, Chinagas Legend, is waiting in Port Said until procedures related to the accident are completed, the head of the canal authority, Osama Rabie, said in a statement.

Two channel sources said Chinagas Legend was uninjured in the collision, was operating normally and had anchored in Port Said.

The dead crew member, Sayed Moussa, was a mechanic from Port Said, his family said.

Rabie said seven people had been on board the Fahd tug and salvage work was underway, with a crane being sent to recover the sunken ship.

Two other channel sources said the other six members of the tug crew had been rescued and taken to hospital.

The tanker, which was heading south on its journey from Singapore to the US, is 230 meters (755 feet) long and 36 meters (118 feet) wide, carrying a cargo of 52,000 metric tons of liquefied gas. of petroleum (LPG).

Reporting by Yousri Mohammed; Written by Hatem Maher and Angus McDowall; Edited by Angus MacSwan, David Holmes and Toby Chopra

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