The stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal for nearly a week has been freed and is on the move, allowing traffic in one of the world's most important waterways to finally resume.
Egyptian authorities said other vessels were also moving again following the refloating of the gigantic Ever Given ship, which had been jammed diagonally across a southern section.
Helped by a high tide, a flotilla of tug boats today managed to wrench the ship's bow from the canal's sandy bank.
It had been firmly lodged there since high winds last Tuesday, halting traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
The 400m (1,312ft) long Ever Given, which is carrying 20,000 containers, is now being pulled by the salvage team to the Great Bitter Lake - a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal, where the ship will have a full technical inspection.
"She's free," said an official involved in the operation.
Live footage on a local television station showed the 224,000-tonne ship surrounded by tugs moving slowly in the centre of the canal, reportedly at a speed of 1.5 knots.
Evergreen Line, which leases the ship, said the outcome of the inspection will determine whether it can resume its scheduled service.
It added that following the inspection, decisions will be made about the arrangements for the cargo on board.
The company that manages the vessel, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said: "There have been no reports of pollution or cargo damage and initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding."
Efforts to get the ship moving again appeared to have been frustrated after high winds swung it back across the channel after its partial refloating earlier on Monday.
There had been intensive efforts to push and pull it with 10 tug boats and vacuum up sand with several dredgers.
Osama Rabei, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, confirmed the skyscraper-sized ship had responded successfully to "pull-and-push manoeuvres".
He said it could take between two-and-a-half and three days to clear the backlog in one of the globe's most vital maritime trade arteries.
At least 369 vessels are waiting to transit the canal, including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels.
The oil price fell as news of developments in the canal emerged, with the price of Brent crude down by 2% to just over $63 (£46) a barrel.
It had been feared the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned ship might have been stuck for weeks.
Dredgers overnight shifted more than 27,000 cubic metres of sand - to a depth of 18m (59ft) - with work taking place around the clock.
After the Ever Given became stuck six days ago, the resulting disruption to the vital waterway held up £6.5bn in global trade each day.
Hundreds of other vessels had remained trapped in the canal waiting to pass, carrying everything from crude oil to cattle.
More than two dozen vessels opted for the alternative route between Asia and Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, adding around a fortnight to journeys and threatening delivery delays.
Usually, about 15% of world shipping traffic transits the Suez Canal, which is an important source of foreign currency revenue for Egypt.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L3N1ZXotY2FuYWwtdHJhZmZpYy1maW5hbGx5LW1vdmluZy1hZ2Fpbi1hZnRlci1zdHJhbmRlZC1zaGlwLXJlZmxvYXRlZC0xMjI2MDE2NNIBbWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9zdWV6LWNhbmFsLXRyYWZmaWMtZmluYWxseS1tb3ZpbmctYWdhaW4tYWZ0ZXItc3RyYW5kZWQtc2hpcC1yZWZsb2F0ZWQtMTIyNjAxNjQ?oc=5
2021-03-29 14:48:45Z
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