The cargo ship is still stranded around the Suez Canal, but an Egyptian official said it would be released over the weekend.

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Cairo – Maritime traffic through the Suez Canal was blocked for the fourth day in a row on Friday, with dozens of ships stranded at both north and south entrances for the shortest route between Asia and Europe. Efforts Disintegration of the world’s largest cargo ships, Stuck on the side of the narrow canal since Tuesday, picking up, and when a team in charge of operations said it could take weeks, when an adviser to the Egyptian president gave a more optimistic time table.

Navigation from the canal will resume in ume 48-72 hours, maximum, Mohab Mumish, an adviser to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and former chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told AFP on Thursday. ”

Mumish cited his “experience of many such rescue operations” and said he “knows every centimeter of the canal.”

The SCAA announced earlier this week that all navigation through the canal would be “temporarily suspended” until the Hulking given the Panamanian flagship container ship MV Ever.

SCAA on Thursday called on Dutch salvage firm SMIT. After meeting with said that is helping to move the operation forward, that about 19,600-26,000 cubic yards of sand had to be moved, reaching a depth of 40 to 50 feet along the banks of the canal, to make it a lodge. The ship

On Wednesday, the SCAA allowed 13 ships to enter the Mediterranean, at the northern end of the boat, in the hope that the Ever-provided would quickly close and other cargo ships would be able to continue their voyage. But those ships made it just a lake in the middle of the canal, and they couldn’t go anywhere fast.

Egypt is using at least eight large tugboats and excavation equipment along the canal, but so far all attempts to replot the nearly one-mile-long, 247,000-ton container ship have failed.

The SCAA said on Thursday it was adopting an “alternative view” with ships entering the canal from the north on Wednesday, “until the navigation is fully resumed, Bitter Lakes will leave anchored in the waiting area.”

Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp, which operates the ship on lease on behalf of a Japanese company it owns, hired Dutch company Smith Selvage and Japan’s Nippon Salvage to work with the ship’s captain and the Suez Canal Authority on how to come back. -Flot.

Peter Berdowski, CEO of Bosklis, a Dutch company owned by Smit Selvaj, said on Thursday that it was too early to decide how long the job would take.

“We can’t rule out the possibility that it could take weeks, depending on the situation,” Berdowski told the Dutch television program “Nievesuer,” according to Reuters. Shipping sources told Reuters that if the delays continued, the ships could potentially resume sailing to the south of Africa, adding thousands of miles and about a week to travel.

Shoi Kisen, a Japanese company owned by Ever Giwed, told the Associated Press that it was cooperating with local authorities, but that “operations are extremely difficult.”

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to ships traveling to or from the Suez Canal and to all concerned,” the company said.

According to Reuters, about 30% of the world’s shipping container goods typically pass through the Suez Canal every day – a journey that takes about six hours – about 12% of the total goods traded globally, according to Reuters.

The news agency quoted industry consultant Kipler as saying that while the canal is the world’s total product. products% facilitates the transport of oil products, prolonged disruptions could affect supplies to Asia and Europe, and the impact on global oil prices appeared inevitable. .

In the meantime, the incident – and in particular the fact that even one, very large ship has disrupted global trade, and photos of the ship’s hull have been sent to excavation by lone diggers – has inspired memes’ wealth on social media. . . CBS’s own “sweetheart” Stephen Colbert also donned a captain’s hat to cover up the maritime tragedy on Wednesday evening’s show.

As the fun continues online, stress levels will continue to rise for both shipowners, who have to pay the rescue bill, and the Egyptian canal authority, which is already suffering revenue shortages due to the Kovid epidemic. .