Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, confirmed on Wednesday that navigation through the canal remains unaffected by the sinking of the offshore drilling rig "Ed Marine 12" in the Gulf of Suez's Zait Bay area, with traffic continuing normally in both directions.

In an official statement, Rabie emphasized that shipping traffic is proceeding at normal rates, completely unaffected by the incident which occurred approximately 130 nautical miles from the canal's southern entrance in the Red Sea, well outside the waterway's navigation channel.

The Chairman noted that the Authority's Crisis and Disaster Management Center is closely monitoring developments as part of its mandate to coordinate with external entities in managing crises occurring outside the canal's navigation channel. He affirmed the Authority's readiness to cooperate with relevant parties to provide necessary assistance if required, highlighting its integrated system of maritime expertise, specialized rescue units, and capabilities in maritime insurance and pollution control.

According to the statement, navigation through the Suez Canal saw 33 vessels transit from both directions today, with a total net tonnage of 1.4 million tons.

Earlier reports from Egypt confirmed four workers dead and 18 injured in the incident that led to the sinking of the "Ed Marine 12" drilling rig in the Zait Bay area of the Gulf of Suez.