Friday 13 / December / 2024
The Ever Given has been "partially refloated" in what appears to be a first step to dislodging it from the Suez Canal. The container ship has been blocking the canal for nearly a week, holding up billions in trade.
The Ever Given ship was dislodged by an Egyptian crew in the Suez Canal early Monday morning, after it was stuck for nearly a week, according to maritime service provider Inchcape Shipping.
The massive ship's grounding impeded international trade, resulting in a pileup with hundreds of vessels in the canal.
What is the latest?
Suez Canal Transport Authority chief Osama Rabie said workers used "pulling maneuvers" to refloat the ship.
Videos posted by several reporters on Twitter showed tug boat teams celebrating as the front of the ship appeared to be floating in the canal once again.
Other videos showed the ship floating straight in the canal, no longer wedged across — and potentially with enough space for other vessels to pass by it.
It's still unclear when the canal will reopen for traffic now that the vessel has been dislodged.
Excavators have been working around the clock to dig out and vacuum up a massive amount of sand and mud around the ship, while tug boat crews have been working to free it.
How did the Ever Given get stuck?
On March 23, the Ever Given was passing through a single-lane portion of the Suez Canal when it veered off course during a sandstorm.
Although authorities had blamed strong winds for the ship's grounding last Tuesday, Transport Authority chief Rabie had believed it could have been possibly due to "human error." The ship was en route from Malaysia to the Netherlands when it got stuck.
The ship, registered in Panama, is owned by Japanese company Imabari Shipbuilding and operated by shipping firm Evergreen Marine.
What has the impact been?
The skyscraper-sized ship has effectively brought a key global shipping route to a halt. The Suez Canal is the shortest route between Europe and Asia, connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
The blockage has been holding up some $9 billion (€7.6 billion) in global trade every day since the ship became wedged in the canal.
At least 300 other cargo vessels — carrying goods from crude oil to cattle and sheep — have been waiting for days to pass through the canal.
With concerns mounting about when the ship would be freed, at least two dozen other vessels decided to use an alternate route — sailing around the continent of Africa and sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. The detour will add around two weeks to the ships' journeys and impact delivery delays.
