Two tankers appear to reroute away from Suez Canal

At least two crude oil tankers appear to have changed course to avoid the blocked Suez Canal, shiptracking data show.

The laden Marlin Santorini Suezmax, which departed the US Gulf earlier in March and was listed as on a voyage to east Asia, turned sharply southward yesterday before reaching Gibraltar on its eastbound trip across the Atlantic, according to vessel tracker Vortexa. The vessel is now heading approximately towards the Cape of Good Hope.

The journey from the US Gulf to east Asia is only around four days longer via the Cape of Good Hope than via the Suez Canal under normal circumstances, according to Vortexa, although the deviation will be larger for the Marlin Santorini because it had made considerable progress towards Gibraltar before rerouting.

The unladen Phoenix Vigor very large crude carrier (VLCC), which had been voyaging toward the Red Sea and Suez Canal southern entrance after leaving the northwest Indian port of Sikka on 21 March, appears to have turned around and is now heading for Fujairah, according to Vortexa.

Suez Canal traffic has been halted since 23 March following the grounding of the 400m-long Ever Given containership in the canal's northbound lane. The vessel's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen, said that dredging and digging efforts aim to move the tanker by late tomorrow, even as previous attempts have failed.

By Will Collins