Seven thousand ships were stranded in the Huaian section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in east China's Jiangsu Province Tuesday.

Canal regulators said the waterway traffic was not likely to resume within 10 to 15 days.

Wang Yuanchun, director of Jiangsu's Canal Regulatory Authority, told China Daily: "We have been closely monitoring the water flow in Shaobo Lake these days. The rapids are still dangerous for the passage of ships.''

The rapids were flowing at 2.5 meters a second on Tuesday, whereas a speed of 0.4 meters a second is considered the maximum for safe operations.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal intersects with Shaobo Lake, which is the Huaihe River's major flood-distribution channel.

Wang said the authority locked the Huaian section on July 10 for the sake of safety.

"Smooth traffic is important but not so important as safety,'' he said.

The canal authority distributed clean drinking water and food to the ships stranded in the canal, and explained to the ship operators why the canal was being closed.

The authority has also been disinfecting the stranded ships every day to prevent any possible epidemics.

Wang said the authority had allowed some ships, which were carrying materials for urgent use, to pass through the section when the water was flowing more slowly but the large-scale flow of traffic is still not allowed at the moment.

Zhang Shanbo, an official with the Ministry of Communications' Water Transport Department, told China Daily that the canal experienced traffic jams nearly each year, mainly in July and August.

"Heavy rainfall in major rivers in summer often makes it impossible to operate the canal smoothly,'' he said.

Zhang said his department was aware that ship operators might lose money because of the canal closure but the department could do nothing but offer sympathy.

"The canal closure was caused by a natural disaster -- flooding. So, under the relevant industrial regulations, the regulators are under no obligation to pay compensation,'' Zhang said.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal starts in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, and ends in Beijing. It was first developed during the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618). The canal extends 1,747 kilometers from south to north.

The canal runs across the Yangtze, Yellow, Huaihe and Haihe rivers.

(China Daily July 23, 2003)