In this photo released by the Suez Canal Authority, tug boats and diggers work to free the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned Ever Given, which is lodged across the Suez Canal, Sunday, March 28, 2021. Two additional tugboats are speeding to canal to aid efforts to free the skyscraper-sized container ship wedged for days across the crucial waterway. That's even as major shippers increasingly divert their boats out of fear the vessel may take even longer to free.
Suez Canal Authority / AP Photo
Suez Canal Authority / AP Photo
In this photo released by the Suez Canal Authority, tug boats and diggers work to free the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned Ever Given, which is lodged across the Suez Canal, Sunday, March 28, 2021. Two additional tugboats are speeding to canal to aid efforts to free the skyscraper-sized container ship wedged for days across the crucial waterway. That's even as major shippers increasingly divert their boats out of fear the vessel may take even longer to free.
(Washington) — Six days after a massive cargo ship ran aground in the Suez Canal and drove traffic to a standstill in one of the world’s most important waterways, authorities reported the vessel was partially afloat.
Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, announced early Monday, that the stern of the Ever Given container ship had been moved 102 meters from shore; it had been just 4 feet from land.
A team of tugboats pushed and pulled the ship from the edge of the canal. Their work will resume 11:30 AM local time when water levels are expected to rise to their highest point. That would allow the salvage crews to move the Ever Given to the middle of the shipping lane, officials said.
Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, that is wedged across the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in the vital waterway is seen Saturday, March 27, 2021. Tugboats and a specialized suction dredger worked to dislodge a giant container ship that has been stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for the past three days, blocking a crucial waterway for global shipping. (AP Photo/Mohamed Elshahed)
Rabie said shipping traffic would not resume until the Ever Given was completely freed. It has been wedged at an angle, blocking all traffic, since Tuesday. At about 1,300 feet long and 200 feet wide, it is among the largest container ships currently in operation.
If crews can pry the Ever Given from its spot on the Suez Canal, global supply chains could avoid further stress and loss of money. A prolonged delay could increase the cost of shipping, complicate manufacturing and ultimately drive up prices, logistics experts previously told NPR.
The ship’s owner, Japan-based Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., cautioned the Ever Given was not yet free. A company representative told NPR the tugs have managed to change the boat’s direction, but it is not yet afloat.
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