Suez Canal blockage cleared as cargo ship Ever Given fully floated, but traffic jam will take days to clear

The giant container ship that blocked Egypt’s Suez Canal for almost a week has been fully floated and traffic in the waterway has resumed, the canal authority said in a statement.

Live footage on Egyptian television showed the ship surrounded by tug boats moving slowly in the centre of the canal.

The 400-metre long ship had been blocking one of the world’s busiest trade routes, forcing companies to reroute ships and causing long tailbacks of hundreds of vessels.

Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bulbous bow of the Ever Given from the canal’s sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since last Tuesday.

Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com confirmed that the ship was moving away from the shoreline toward the centre of the artery.

The obstruction has created a massive traffic jam in the vital passage, holding up $12 billion each day in global trade and straining supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more . . 

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/