The stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week, Ever Given, has been re-floated and is being secured, Inchcape Shipping Services say.
The container ship was lodged sideways and impeding traffic across Egypt's Suez Canal. Photo: AFP / Suez Canal Authority
The ship was successfully re-floated at 4.30am local time and was being secured at the moment, Inchcape, a global provider of marine services said on Twitter.
Ship-tracking service VesselFinder has changed the ship's status to under way on its website.
The 400m-long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds last week, halting shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
At least 369 vessels were waiting to transit the canal, including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told Egypt's Extra News on Sunday.
Egypt's Leth Agencies tweeted the ship had been partially refloated, pending official confirmation from the Suez Canal Authority.
Great efforts from Suez Canal Authority continues with 10 tugs including ALP GUARD in coordination with SMIT are currently stationed on four different directions to tow M/V EVER GIVEN in the #SuezCanal
— Leth Agencies (@AgenciesLeth) March 29, 2021
Source: https://t.co/iCYta86ErN pic.twitter.com/tDEe9BDz12
The Suez Canal Authority earlier said in a statement that tugging operations to free the ship had resumed. The Suez Canal salvage teams intensified excavation and dredging on Sunday and were hoping a high tide would help them dislodge it.
The ship's technical manager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
- Reuters
