The massive ship that has blocked the Suez Canal for over a week has been partially cleared off the water way.
Inchcape, a leading provider of marine services and supply logistics has announced that Ever Given has been successfully re-floated in the Suez Canal, a week after the giant vessel was grounded due to strong winds in excess of 35 to 40 miles an hour.
Information contained in a Bloomberg report reveals the breakthrough in the rescue attempt came after diggers removed 27,000 cubic meters of sand, going deep into the banks of the canal.
The authorities noted that while the ship is floating again, it wasn’t immediately clear how soon the waterway would be open to traffic, however, efforts are being made to secure her at the moment. The ship remains stable, but the front was damaged due to the rescue attempts made to refloat the vessel.
The giant vessel which ran aground about a week ago has become a major challenge for global trade, blocking one of the world’s most important trade routes, which account for about 12% of global trade and 30% of global container ship traffic daily.
This has spiked tensions and concerns about the strain of this disruption on the global supply chains, which has been stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grounding of Ever Given has led to a logjam of more than 450 ships, while some ships have already opted for the long and expensive trip around the southern tip of Africa instead of Suez.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, vessels hauling commodities such as grains, coal and iron ore account for the biggest share of the vessels stuck in and around the canal. While as many as 15 vessels could be carrying thousands of livestock.
While the number of ships waiting to enter the Suez Canal now exceeds the size of the entire U.S. Navy fleet; Egypt had set a deadline of Tuesday to start unloading the ship if it wasn’t refloated yet.