Suez, Egypt – The huge container ship that has blocked traffic in the Suez Canal, brought the main global trade route to a standstill and attracted world attention, was partially affected as early as Monday.
Lieutenant General Osama Rabi, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said in a statement that Evergreen had successfully floated after receiving a response to a drag-and-drop exercise in the ship.
Canal officials and Inchcap, a separate maritime logistics company that handles shipping in the canal, said the condition of the skyscraper was now 100 percent straight.
The ship’s stern was moved to the center of the waterway and is now 102 meters (334 feet) from shore, the Canal Authority said.
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The 1,400-foot-long ship sank in the southern part of the Suez Canal on Tuesday. Leaving a total of 367 shipsUnable to use the key trading route until Monday morning, including dozens of container vessels and bulk carriers.
Dredgers worked to evacuate the stranded ship over the weekend, moving about 27,000 metric tons of sand to a depth of 60 feet, the Canal Authority said Sunday.
It added that a total of 14 tugboats were maneuvering from three directions to disperse the ship.
The maneuvers were to resume when the tide raised the water level again.
Australia said that once the ship sailed to the Great Bitter Lake, between the north and south ends of the canal, a wide strip of water, where it would be technically tested.
Shoi Kisin Kaisha Ltd., the company that owns the ship, told NBC News early Monday morning that the ship has not yet floated and rescue operations have been halted as the challenging water level receded throughout the process. Again.
The company had earlier said it was considering removing the container if other experimental efforts failed.
The trapped Panama-flag salute and the Japanese-owned vessel blocked all traffic toward the canal. Experts feared it could take weeks to free and block the route, which accounts for about 12 percent of global trade.
The Suez Canal typically allows 50 cargo ships to pass between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea daily, providing important trade corridors between Europe and Asia.
The closure has threatened to disrupt oil and gas vessels from the Middle East to Europe. Already, Syria has begun to ration the distribution of fuel in the war-torn country, due to concerns about delays in shipments.
Shipping rates for oil product tankers have almost doubled since the shipwreck, Reuters reports, disrupting the global supply chain strained by the Covid-19 sanctions.
If the barrier is pulled, shippers may be forced to redo their cargo around Cape Good Hope on the south side of Africa, adding about two weeks to the trip and additional fuel costs.
Ritchie from Charlene Gubasch Suez, Ritchie Ducho from Los Angeles, And Arata Yamamoto reports from Tokyo.
Arata Yamamoto Contributed.
