Ahram - Egypt’s Suez Canal has deployed an emergency team to provide maintenance and repairs services for dry bulk vessel ZOGRAFIA, which was targeted in an attack by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea last week, according to a statement by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

On Tuesday, the Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was hit by a Houthi missile while heading northbound in the south Red Sea. The damaged vessel was received at a floating dock operated by the Suez Shipyard Company, affiliated with the SCA.

After conducting a technical inspection, the SCA team said the vessel’s hull and components sustained external and internal damage in the attack, according to the statement. The 190-metre-long vessel has a cargo capacity of 55,000 tons.

SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said the authority is ready to provide necessary navigational, maintenance, and repair services transiting vessels may need in case of failures or emergencies amid the current conditions in the Red Sea.

“The Suez Canal Authority will spare no effort to provide a full set of navigational and maritime services that guarantee the normal flow of navigation through the canal maintain the sustainability of global supply chains,” he was quoted as saying.

The SCA, he added, will stay in touch with all of its clients to mitigate the effects of the current situation in the Red Sea.

Tensions are running high in the Red Sea as Houthis attack Israel-linked shipping near the strategic Bab Al-Mandeb Strait in the crucial maritime route in solidarity with Palestinians, enduring harsh conditions by Israel’s more than three-month-long war.

The US and the UK retaliated by launching strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Several shipping firms have suspended all journeys through the Red Sea. The shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia is through Egypt’s Suez Canal and the Red Sea.

It is connected to the Gulf of Aden by the Bab Al-Mandab strait between Yemen and Djibouti.