Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that the grounding of a huge container ship in the Suez Canal had reaffirmed the importance of the waterway.

"We didn't hope for something like this, but fate was doing its work. It showed and reaffirmed the reality and importance" of the canal, Sisi said as he greeted staff on a visit to the Suez Canal Authority in Ismailia.