SMAILIA, Egypt — Shipping traffic through Egypt's
Suez Canal has resumed after a giant container ship which had been blocking the
busy waterway for almost a week was refloated, the canal authority said.
اضافة اعلان
The 400m long Ever Given became jammed diagonally
across a southern section of the canal in high winds early last Tuesday,
halting traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.
"She's free," an official involved in the salvage
operation said.
After dredging and excavation work over the weekend, rescue
workers from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and a team from Dutch firm Smit
Salvage succeeded in partially refloating her early on Monday using tug boats,
two marine and shipping sources said.
Efforts to completely free her continued throughout the day.
At least 369 vessels are waiting to transit the canal,
including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and liquefied
natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas vessels, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie
said.
The SCA has said it can accelerate convoys through the canal
once the Ever Given is freed. "We will not waste one second," Rabie
told Egyptian state television.
He said it could take from two-and-a-half to three days to
clear the backlog, and the canal source said more than 100 ships would be able
to enter the channel daily.
Shipping group Maersk said the knock-on disruptions
to global shipping could take weeks or months to unravel.
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