Ever Given ship blocking the Suez canal refloated

Satellite image of Ever Given blocking Suez canal | Photo: Maxar Technologies

Suez Canal, Egypt – The Ever Given ship blocking the Suez canal for the past six days have been refloated this morning.

This is the first step to clearing one of the busiest freight waterways in the world. The ship has been partially freed from the canal by an Egyptian team working with Japanese and Dutch consultants salvaging team.

Thousands of cubic metres of sand was caked around the 400-metre-long mega-ship Ever Given lodged horizontally across the Suez canal, with excavators, dredgers, and tugboats working through the weekend to dislodge the boat from the sand.

Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie told local news that the refloating of the ship is a good sign. Although this is a good first step, authorities have yet to determine when the canal will reopen.

More than 450 ships have been stuck, waiting or en route to the canal. Adding to the strain on the global economy, with the Suez canal transit route accommodating for 12% of global trade. Some ships have rerouted to South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope which is more expensive and adds seven to ten days to the trip.