据央视新闻消息，当地时间8月31日晚，一艘名为“AFFINITY”悬挂新加坡国旗、载重6.4万吨、长252米的油轮在苏伊士运河搁浅，导致苏伊士运河航道暂停通航。
According to CCTV news, on the evening of Aaugust 31, local time, a tanker named "AFFINITY" flying the Singaporean flag with a load of 64,000 tons and a length of 252 meters ran aground in the Suez Canal, resulting in the suspension of navigation in the Suez Canal channel.
苏伊士运河管理局发言人告诉埃及媒体，油轮当地时间19时15分许搁浅，约5小时后脱困。苏伊士运河管理局局长在一份声明中说，油轮转向装置出现技术故障，撞到运河岸边，困在一处单向航道。该机构派出5艘拖船施救，油轮随后重新浮起。目前运河航行已经恢复正常。
A spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority told Egyptian media that the tanker ran aground at 19:15 local time and was rescued about five hours later. The head of the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that the tanker suffered a technical failure in its steering gear and hit the bank of the canal and was stuck in a one-way channel. The agency dispatched five tugboats to the rescue, and the tanker then refloated. The canal has now returned to normal navigation.
据报道，该事故发生在苏伊士运河南段。去年3月23日引发全球关注的“长赐号”在同一河段搁浅，导致苏伊士运河航运受阻近一周。而距离当时的世纪大堵船，只过去了18个月。
According to reports, the accident occurred in the southern section of the Suez Canal. On March 23 last year, the "Changci" ran aground in the same river section, which attracted global attention, causing the shipping of the Suez Canal to be blocked for nearly a week. And only 18 months have passed, accident happened again.
苏伊士运河是世界贸易最繁忙的海上航线之一。该运河位于欧亚非三洲交界地带，连接红海和地中海。全球海上贸易约10%须通过苏伊士运河，这条运河收入是埃及国家财政收入和外汇储备的主要来源之一。
The Suez Canal, located on the border between Europe, Asia and Africa, is one of the busiest sea routes for world trade, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. About 10% of global maritime trade must pass through the Suez Canal, which is one of the main sources of Egypt's national fiscal revenue and foreign exchange reserves.
为防止再出现类似堵塞事件，苏伊士运河管理局及其下属公司去年7月启动运河拓宽工程，预计2023年完工。
In order to prevent similar blockages from happening again, the Suez Canal Authority and its affiliated companies have started the canal widening project in July last year, which is expected to be completed in 2023.
