You are probably right. I have been thinking back, and in my day, which was ... well let's just say it wasn't yesterday, I have sort of dredged up a memory and I think it was that tankers were not allowed through the canal as part of the main convoy. Though in reality gas ships have a very good safety record, much better than oil tankers. The only near miss with a gas ship was one that lost power off the American east coast and drifted for several days, because the crew couldn't get the generators going again. Apparently they tried everything, including by-passing the HV Safety Interlocks......

[Further edit]

I should also have added that the majority of large oil tankers could not go through the canal while full of oil due to their draft. They could only go through when in ballast. Unless they have dredged the canal by a significant amount then this will likely still be the case.

You are probably right. I have been thinking back, and in my day, which was ... well let's just say it wasn't yesterday, I have sort of dredged up a memory and I think it was that tankers were not allowed through the canal as part of the main convoy. Though in reality gas ships have a very good safety record, much better than oil tankers. The only near miss with a gas ship was one that lost power off the American east coast and drifted for several days, because the crew couldn't get the generators going again. Apparently they tried everything, including by-passing the HV Safety Interlocks......

[Further edit]

I should also have added that the majority of large oil tankers could not go through the canal while full of oil due to their draft. They could only go through when in ballast. Unless they have dredged the canal by a significant amount then this will likely still be the case.