The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal is partially dislodged from where it got stuck days ago.
Officials finally saw progress early Monday morning as the rear of the 200,000-ton ship known as Ever Given was dislodged from the canal’s banks.
SUEZ CANAL BLOCKED AFTER MASSIVE CONTAINER SHIP GETS STUCK
The Suez Canal authority said the progress was “the result of successful push and tow maneuvers which led to the restoration of 80% of the vessel’s direction; with the stern 102 [meters] away from the bank of the Canal instead of 4 [meters] prior to the reflecting.” Authorities said that the next efforts to free the ship will occur late Monday morning when it’ll be high tide. They believe that will allow for “the full restoration.”
The ship got stuck last Tuesday, nearly a week ago, when a powerful sandstorm packing winds in excess of 45 mph buffeted the ship and caused it to become lodged between the banks of the critical passageway. Since the incident, officials have been working to dislodge the vessel, but the supply chain disruption has cost billions of dollars.
Europe’s largest insurer, Allianz, calculated that each week the canal remains blocked could cost world trade anywhere from $6 billion to $10 billion, on top of the more than $200 billion that has been lost since January. A separate estimate from Lloyd's List calculated that the blockage is resulting in $9.6 billion in losses per day, as the area faces a backlog of 185 ships waiting to cross the waterway. Approximately 50 boats use the canal every day.
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The development of the partial dislodgement is welcomed news as Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, which is assisting in efforts to move the Ever Given, said last week it “might take weeks, depending on the situation.”
