Reuters- Container ships were seen heading towards the entrance to the Suez Canal on Wednesday (March 24), where eight tug boats have been attempting to free a 400m (440-yard) long container ship, blocking vessels passing through one of the world's most important waterways.
The 224,000-tonne Ever Given was stranded on Tuesday (March 23) morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.
The giant container ship has been partially refloated and traffic is expected to resume soon, port agent GAC said on Wednesday, citing the Suez Canal Authority
The Ever Given container ship was now alongside the canal bank, GAC said on its website. The ship earlier appeared to be stuck diagonally across the width of the canal, blocking other shipping.
About 12 percent of world trade by volume passes through the canal connecting Europe and Asia. The canal remains a major source of hard currency for Egypt.
Tracking maps showed the ship grounded in the southernmost stretch of the canal, near the Red Sea port of Suez.
The Canal Authority said it had issued a message of reassurance regarding "navigational movement through the canal and its return to regularity through the course of the original canal."
The canal was expanded with a parallel waterway on part of its length in 2015, north of where the Ever Given is stranded. Two senior Egyptian marine sources said some traffic would be diverted but it was unclear that this could free up congestion.
Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp, which is leasing the vessel under a time charter, said the ship owner had informed the company that the ship "was suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate from waterway and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground."
The 400m ship is 59m (65 yards) wide and can carry up to 20,000 20-foot equivalent (TEU) shipping containers.
