Photo released by the Suez Canal Authority shows Egyptian tug boats trying to free Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given (Evergreen) lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway of Egypt’s Suez Canal. — AFP file photo
MOSCOW (March 29): The Ever Given container ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal has now been freed, reported Sputnik, quoting an announcement from maritime services provider Inchcape Shipping.
“The MV Ever Given was successfully re-floated at 04:30 lt 29/03/2021. She is being secured at the moment. More information about next steps will follow once they are known,” Inchcape said on Twitter on Monday morning.
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Bloomberg reported on Monday that although salvage crews had managed to get the ship moving it was yet unclear how soon the Suez Canal would be open for traffic.
The 1,300-feet-long Ever Given has been stuck in the Suez Canal since Tuesday, when it ran aground on its way from China to the Netherlands. Several attempts had been made to move it.
A Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday that the blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given container ship was causing a traffic jam of vessels that could be seen 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the canal’s southern entrance in the Red Sea.
Osama Rabie, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, said on Sunday that 369 vessels were waiting to pass through. – Bernama