Ship catches fire in Suez Canal, blocks oil tankers

ISMAILIA (Reuters) - A Panama-flagged ship caught fire while passing through the Suez Canal on Wednesday, temporarily blocking oil tankers from the waterway, canal sources said.

Most ships were diverted around the fire, but canal officials would not allow oil tankers to pass because of the danger, said the sources, who did not give their names.

They gave the name of the ship as Shingal and said it was carrying 60,000 tonnes of goods, without giving further details.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was unclear, they said.

The ship caught fire in the southern part of the canal, as it was crossing from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, the sources said.

The 190-km (110-mile) waterway linking Europe and Asia is a main foreign-currency earner for the Egyptian government.