A massive container ship that had blocked the Suez Canal since March 23 has been freed and re-floated, maritime service provider Inchcape Shipping said on Monday. The Panama-flagged ship, Ever Given, had veered off its course in a single-lane stretch of the canal during a sandstorm, reports DPA news agency. After almost a week the giant ship started moving, videos surfacing on social media showed. The owner of the ship, however, said that the vessel has only "turned" but is not yet afloat.
The spokesman for the vessel's owner said the Ever Given was "stuck at an angle of 30 degrees towards the canal but that has eased.
Dredgers and tug boats had been working around the clock to free the massive 400-metre-long-vessel. The high tide on Sunday night helped to free the ship, the service provider indicated. The blockage of the canal led to disrupted supply chains and sent ripples through global markets. When the Suez Canal will be reopened to traffic was initially not clear.
As per reports, around 27,000 cubic meters of sand were drilled to a depth of 18 meters, to free the ship. The giant ship had been stuck diagonally across the Suez Canal for 6 days now - one of the world's most vital waterways - since March 23 leading to a long queue of more than 450 ships at the southern entrance to the trade route.
The canal backlog severely strained global supply chains and was already extended by the covid-19 pandemic as the canal is a channel for at least 12% of global trade. Some ships choose for a long and costly tour around the southern tip of Africa instead of Suez. Reportedly, Egypt - which controls the canal - had been losing about 14 million dollars per day in revenue because of the accidental blockade.
According to the canal authority, around 370 ships were waiting for passage on both sides of the canal, including 25 oil tankers. Financial news wire Bloomberg reported there could even be 450 waiting for ships.
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The Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, provides the shortest shipping route between Asia and Europe.
The blockage was costing the canal operator $13 million to $14 million in losses per day, according to the head of the state Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi had ordered preparations for the possibility of reducing a load of containers on the vessel to help free it.