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SUEZ: The MV Ever Given was re-floated and the Suez Canal reopened today, bringing relief nearly a week after the massive container ship got stuck during a sandstorm and blocked a major artery for world trade.
“Admiral Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, announced the resumption of maritime traffic on the Suez Canal,” SCA said in a statement.
Television footage showed tugboat crews wailing their sirens in celebration after the Ever Given, a mega cargo ship the length of four football fields, was dislodged from the banks of the Suez.
The advance followed what appeared to be a setback and came moments after the ship had temporarily settled into the diagonal position in which it had been stuck after running aground last Tuesday.
Maritime data company Lloyd’s List said the blockade had retained an estimated $ 9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.
By the end of the drama, the tail of the ships had reached 425 at the two ends of the channel, in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Tugboat fleet
The Japanese-owned ship had been partially evicted today, prompting immediate praise from Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“Today, the Egyptians have managed to end the crisis of the stranded ship in the Suez Canal, despite the enormous complexity surrounding the process,” Sisi said.
Egypt is estimated to have lost between $ 12 million and $ 14 million in revenue from the canal for every day it was closed, according to the canal authority.
After the 200,000-ton ship was refloated, it was expected to take about three and a half days to clear the ship traffic, Rabie said, praising the rescue efforts.
The rescue teams have been working around the clock.
They had focused on efforts to remove sand around the ship, with 27,000 cubic meters cleared at a depth of 18 meters, SCA spokesman George Safwat said yesterday.
Collateral damage
The crisis has forced companies to choose between waiting or diverting ships through Africa, which adds a huge fuel bill, 9,000 km and more than a week of travel to the trip between Asia and Europe.
Russia offered aid yesterday, following other countries, including the United States, which have made similar offers.
In a sign of the collateral effects of the Suez blockade, authorities in war-torn Syria said the crisis had affected its fuel imports from Iran and forced it to ration already scarce supplies.
Romania’s animal health agency said 11 boats carrying livestock out of the country were also affected, while the charity Animals International warned of a possible “tragedy” that would affect some 130,000 animals.
