On Wednesday 6th December, 2023, the 2008 built 336 m container ship ONE ORPHEUS sailing through the Suez Canal lost her ability to steer due to a rudder failure and collided with equipment at the end of the channel in the canal. The Suez Canal Authority said that following the accident, the following ships were immediately instructed to drop anchor and anchor, and four tugboats were dispatched to the scene to carry out towing operations.
Image courtesy of crane1000.com
She was built in Japan by Jmu Kure Shipyard in 2008 as NYK ORPHEUS with NYK Line, Japan.
And was renamed ONE ORPHEUS when the joint venture by Japanese shipping Lines NYK (38%); MOL (31%) and K Line (31 %) branded a new line as Ocean Network Express (ONE) that was launched in 2017.
ONE decided for all her newly launched ships and containers in a recognizable and eye-catching livery magenta shade (refrigerated containers have the opposite coloring: white with magenta lettering). The magenta colour scheme was inspired by the cherry blossom trees, one of the national symbols of Japan, where the mother companies are located. Other owned ships will also wear the Magenta Livery
ONE ORPHEUS was heading from Singapore to the Netherlands and was sailing north through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The following six ships that had stopped behind her due to the collision were changed course from the new Suez Canal to the original Suez Canal route after passing the southbound ships. Therefore, the Suez Canal Authority stated that the accident had no impact on Suez Canal transit.
