Massive Container Ship Continues To Block Transit Of Egypt's Suez Canal

Marine traffic has inched forward in both directions of Egypt's Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route from Europe to Asia, early Thursday with about a dozen tug boats working to free a massive container ship after it ran aground in the Suez Canal near the start of the week.

The 400-meter long (yards) and 59-meter wide, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.

Comments were awash on Twitter as authorities raced to free the ship.

GAC, a Dubai-based marine services company, said authorities were still working to free the ship.

The ship was sideways in the canal, but has since been eased along the coast even as it blocks the full width of the waterway needed for passage. The SCA said a southbound convoy was on the move and that the authority was trying to keep traffic flowing between waiting areas as best it could while salvage efforts continued.

"Once we get this boat out, then that's it, things will go back to normal. God willing, we'll be done today," Chairman Osama Rabie said. The authority was considering compensation for delayed ships, he said.

About 12% of world trade by volume passes through the canal, and it is a major source of hard currency for Egypt, generating $5.6 billion in 2020.