Cargo ship blocks Suez Canal
A 93,000-ton cargo vessel wedged itself across the Suez Canal on Wednesday, blocking transit both ways between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
High winds during a sandstorm were cited for causing the Hong Kong-flagged 'Okal King Dor' to veer at right angles to the canal, about six miles south of the city of Ismailiya, a canal authority official said.
Four tugs were sent to realign the ship, which had been traveling north toward the Mediterranean.
Approximately 8 percent of the world's sea trade passes through the 120-mile-long canal, which is 330 yards wide at its most narrow point. Ships pass in convoys that take 12 hours to transit the canal.