DUBAI: Tugs worked Wednesday (Mar 24) to free a giant container ship stuck in the Suez Canal after it veered off course in a sandstorm, officials said, creating huge tailbacks on one of the world's busiest trade routes.
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said it was doing all it could to refloat the Taiwan-run but Panama-flagged MV Ever Given, a 400m-long and 59m-wide vessel, which was lodged at an angle across the waterway.
Historic sections of the canal have been reopened in a bid to ease the bottleneck of backed up marine traffic.
"The container accidentally ran aground after a suspected gust of wind hit it," ship operator Evergreen Marine Corp told AFP.
The SCA said the ship was caught up in a sandstorm, a common occurrence in Egypt's Sinai desert at this time of year, blotting out light and limiting the captain's ability to see.
It was "mainly due to the lack of visibility due to the weather conditions when winds reached 40 knots, which affected the control" of the ship, the SCA said in a statement.
After being stranded for more than a day, the ship has been partially refloated and traffic is expected to resume soon, said port agent GAC, citing the SCA.
The Ever Given container ship was now alongside the canal bank, GAC said on its website.
According to satellite data from MarineTraffic.com earlier, the vessel's bow was touching the canal's eastern wall, while its stern looked lodged against its western wall.
The Ever Given is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry about 20,000 containers at a time.
Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp, which is leasing the vessel under a time charter, said the shipowner informed it 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 company has urged the shipowner to report the cause of the incident and has been in discussions with relevant parties including the canal management authority to assist the ship as soon as possible."
All crew are safe and accounted for, said Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which manages the MV Ever Given. "There have been no reports of injuries or pollution."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...n-ship-stuck-block-route-traffic-jam-14477910
