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The MV Ever Given has been stuck diagonally along the canal since Tuesday, blocking the waterway in both directions.
This photograph taken on March 28, 2021 shows a distant view of the Panama-flagged MV ‘Ever Given’ container ship (operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine), which has been wedged diagonally along the canal at about six kilometers north of the Suez Canal entrance through the Red Sea port city of Suez since March 23, blocking the waterway in both directions. Image: Ahmed HASAN / AFP.
MOSCOW – Russia’s ambassador to Egypt on Sunday offered the country “any possible help” as efforts continue to free a mega-ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week.
The MV Ever Given has been stuck diagonally along the canal since Tuesday, blocking the waterway in both directions.
In comments to the state news agency RIA Novosti, Russian Ambassador Georgy Borisenko said Moscow is ready to help in any way it can.
“We hope that this problem will be overcome in the very near future, that the operation of the canal will be restored and, naturally, we are ready to give our Egyptian friends any possible help from us,” said the ambassador.
Borisenko added that Egypt has not approached Moscow for support, but said Russia “identifies with what is happening now in the Suez Canal”, describing it as “an important waterway for the whole world.”
On Saturday, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, had told reporters that the huge ship could be afloat by Sunday night.
The traffic jam has crippled international trade and forced companies to reconsider diverting ships around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, a longer and more expensive way to travel between Asia and Europe.
Another Russian ambassador had taken advantage of the Suez Canal blockade earlier this week to promote Russia’s northern sea lane as a reliable alternative, part of a broader Moscow push to develop the Arctic and capitalize on climate change.
Moscow has invested heavily in the development of the North Sea Route, which allows ships to reduce travel to Asian ports by 15 days compared to the conventional route through the Suez Canal.
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