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The container ship “Ever Given” was finally refloated today and is now sailing through the Suez Canal, where it had been stranded since March 23, after repeated attempts since early Monday morning to move it with the help of high tide.
The Suez Canal Authority reported that “efforts to refloat the ship have been successful” and showed images of the vessel lying parallel to the canal bank, after a week in which it had been lying horizontally blocking passage through the canal in both directions.
In the video published by the managing authority, it can be seen how the container ship floats in the waters of the canal and moves without the help of the tugboats, while the sirens of the ships can be heard to celebrate the feat after several days of dredging and traction work.
The logistics services firm Leth Agencies, which operates in the canal, said the ship is sailing in a northerly direction, heading for the central area of the canal, where it will be able to anchor in the Great Lake.
This morning, the Suez Canal Authority said that this is where it will be able to anchor and will undergo a technical inspection after the incident.
According to the Egyptian television channel Extra News, which has been broadcasting live the operation to refloat the 400-meter-long container ship, transit through the canal will resume this afternoon.
Navigation was suspended after the Panamanian-flagged ship, owned by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen, with 18,300 containers on board, ran aground amid high winds and a sandstorm sweeping through Egypt.
This has created a traffic jam in the Suez Canal, through which more than 10% of world trade and 25% of containers pass, reaching 367 ships today, according to the latest count by Leth Agencies.
