Classification
- Incident Type: Grounded
- Severity: High
- Evidence status: Reported structural damage and salvage outcome; later industry compilation records total loss.
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | New Katerina |
| Vessel Type | Bulk Carrier |
| Flag State | Panama [PA] |
| IMO Number | 9138953 |
| Gross Tonnage | 85590 |
Flag and identity: INTERCARGO, p. 14. Gross tonnage is recorded by TrustedDocks and VesselFinder.
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2016-02-25 |
| Location | Suez Canal near Al Firdan; reported kilometre markers 63 and 69 conflict |
| Region | Egypt |
| Coordinates | |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | |
| Missing | |
| Vessels Lost | 1 |
| Direct Damage | |
| Economic Damage |
INTERCARGO records zero loss of life and total-loss status. Separate injury and missing-person counts are unspecified. INTERCARGO, p. 14
Key facts
- The ship grounded on 25 February while southbound with iron ore for China. INTERCARGO, p. 14, Offshore Energy
- Contemporary reports describe forward hull breaches and water ingress. Offshore Energy
- SCA salvage teams lightered cargo and worked on sealing damaged sections. Offshore Energy, Maritime Executive
- An 8 March report states that refloating was completed the previous evening, followed by towing to the Ballah branch. Al-Araby
- INTERCARGO later recorded total loss and an investigation report available through IMO GISIS from 18 April 2017. INTERCARGO, p. 14
Narrative
New Katerina was proceeding south through the Suez Canal with iron ore from Ukraine for Qingdao when it grounded on 25 February 2016. The early gCaptain account, quoting GAC, gave kilometre 69 and described convoy delays while the canal remained open. Later reporting placed the casualty at kilometre 63, near Al Firdan. The exact marker remains disputed. gCaptain, Maritime Executive
By 1 March, reports described considerable damage to the forward hull, water ingress and flooded compartments. Suez Canal Authority teams began removing iron ore to lighten the ship and make damaged sections accessible for temporary repairs. Work continued over several days. The parallel canal channel allowed traffic to continue, although initial reports described delays. Offshore Energy, Maritime Executive
An Al-Araby report published on 8 March stated that the authority completed refloating on Monday evening, 7 March, and used six tugs to move the ship to the Ballah branch after lightering. Maritime Executive's 9 March account also confirmed refloating and described movement north from the grounding position. These are reports of completed recovery, rather than the initial forecast that tugs would free the vessel. Al-Araby, Maritime Executive
Refloating did not establish a return to normal service. INTERCARGO's later casualty compilation states that Equasis recorded New Katerina as a total loss and lists zero loss of life. It identifies a casualty investigation report available on IMO GISIS from 18 April 2017, but its own case summary calls the root cause unknown. A contemporary steering-failure account remains reported information, without the underlying investigation's findings being available. INTERCARGO, p. 14, Offshore Energy
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2016-02-25 | Grounding while southbound through the canal. |
| 2016-02-26 | gCaptain reported the vessel still aground and convoy delays. |
| 2016-03-01 | Forward damage, flooding, lightering and hull sealing were reported. |
| 2016-03-07 evening, according to the following day's report | Refloating completed; ship towed to the Ballah branch. |
| 2017-04-18 | Date INTERCARGO records an investigation report becoming available on IMO GISIS. |
Sequence: gCaptain, Offshore Energy, Al-Araby, INTERCARGO, p. 14.
Contributing factors
| Factor | Evidence status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of steering | Reported | Offshore Energy reported steering-gear loss before the ship struck the embankment; no investigation finding has been independently verified. |
Factor: Offshore Energy.
Investigation
INTERCARGO lists an investigation report available on IMO GISIS from 18 April 2017. The compilation does not name the investigating authority or reproduce the underlying report's findings. INTERCARGO's 2018 compilation describes the likely root cause as unknown. Its total-loss classification concerns the later vessel outcome, despite successful refloating. INTERCARGO, p. 14
References
- INTERCARGO: Bulk Carrier Casualty Report, years 2008–2017, p. 14
- Offshore Energy: damage and lightering update, 1 March 2016
- Al-Araby: completed refloating, 8 March 2016
- Maritime Executive: refloating confirmation, 9 March 2016
- gCaptain: initial grounding report, 26 February 2016