First junk to appear on the Thames for 160 years was stuck in the Suez Canal

Millions of spectators will be disappointed on Sunday when one of the stars of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant misses the event after becoming stuck in traffic in the Suez Canal.

The Huan Tian was set to become the first authentic junk to appear on the Thames since the Great Exhibition of 1851. It is feared she’ll no longer make it because of a “major traffic jam”, according to the Jubilee pageant organisers.

The junk, which is now in the Mediterranean, can’t make up the lost time because she has a top speed of just 18 knots, the Telegraph reports.

Huan Tian was billed as part of the Avenue of Sail; a collection of vessels moored either side of the Tower Bridge because they’re too big to fit under the bridges that form the route along the Thames.

The photo above is of a junk, taken by Nesster.