The maneuvers to try to refloat the mega container ship Ever Given, stranded in the Suez Canal since last Tuesday, have been successful early this Monday.
Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority and in command of the operation, assured this morning that the ship had begun to float “satisfactorily” and that its position could be modified by 80%, according to a statement from his spokesman, George Safwat.
Rabie added that, thanks to the tensioning and towing maneuvers, the stern of the ship has been moved up to 102 meters from the shore, instead of the previous four meters, a change that can also be observed from the maps of the trackers of maritime traffic.
The maritime service provider Inchcape Shipping and the firm Leth Agencies have also confirmed the success of the operation. The maneuvers are now scheduled to resume when the tide in the canal reaches two meters, its maximum height, around 11.30 (local time), in order to completely change the course of the ship towards the center.
The announcement of the refloating came after “significant progress” was made for the first time on Friday in the aft area of the ship that allowed it to be released from the sandbar, including the rudder, according to a statement from company spokesman Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, in charge of the technical issues of the ship.
Dredgers had since focused on removing sand and mud from around the port side of the ship’s bow, and it was hoped that a favorable tide and a full moon would eventually create the ideal conditions to get the ship moving.
The blockade of the Suez Canal posed a major threat to global trade supply chains. Along the 190 kilometers of this inland waterway, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea, just over 10% of world trade flows, according to estimates by the Suez Canal Authority, and is one of the most important waterways of the planet in the transport of gas, oil and freight in containers.
Daily maritime traffic through the Suez Canal is worth about 9.6 billion dollars (8.15 billion euros), according to an estimate prepared by the company specialized in information on maritime trade Lloyd’s List.
At the time the Ever Given began to refloat, at least 367 vessels were waiting to be able to cross the channel, which had been officially suspended since last Thursday.
