The huge cargo ship that has clogged the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, was freed from the shore early Monday. The Ever Given container ship was pulled free thanks to a massive salvage effort of divers, excavators, and tugboats who worked day and night to free the ship from the sand and the rocks it was trapped in. Ultimately, the big difference was made by Monday’s high tide.
LATEST: The Ever Given container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal is now fully afloat.
The vessel was finally pulled free, allowing the crucial trade route to reopen to traffic https://t.co/0dC8LE0UFI pic.twitter.com/UZjcP2Mrpu
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) March 29, 2021
The rising waters helped the Ever Given regain its buoyancy, and crews on the scene were understandably excited. Listen to the tugboat horns being blown as the ship started moving.
BREAKING: the ship is really moving now and horns are blaring in what sounds like celebration.
The stern has swung away from us and it looks like it’s really facing the right way now after hours of being jackknifed across the channel. pic.twitter.com/gTuvqWO5ta
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 29, 2021
The Ever Given’s entrapment has disrupted the global supply chain. Each day the Suez Canal remained blocked, the closer we move to an actual shipping crisis that will have an economic impact felt around the world. Now, the crucial trade avenue can reopen to shipping traffic. However, it could be days before things return to normal.
According to the New York Times, plan is to tow the ship to the Great Bitter Lake, located along the canal’s route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, to allow for ships to resume moving through the shipping lane.
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