[1/2] A view of the BW Lesmes tanker at Freeport, Texas, U.S., August 3, 2023, in this picture obtained by Reuters. The two tankers, the Singapore-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier BW Lesmes and the Cayman Islands-flagged oil products tanker Burri, briefly collided in the canal, ship tracking company MarineTraffic said early on Wednesday citing eyewitnesses. As of 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), the BW Lesmes was facing north but being towed to the south by two tugboats, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon. A person who answered the phone at the Suez Canal Authority's operations room when contacted by Reuters said he could not provide any information on the tankers. The Suez Canal is one of the world's busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

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Persons: Glenn Travis, MarineTraffic, Osama Rabie, Yusri Mohamed, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Nafisa, Enas Alashray, Florence Tan, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: BW, Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Shipping, BW Group, TMS, Thomson Locations: Freeport , Texas, U.S, Rights CAIRO, Singapore, Cayman, Suez, Europe, Asia