How the Suez Canal was Unblocked

How the Suez Canal was Unblocked

SUEZ, EGYPT — The BBC reports that the Ever Given container ship has been successfully refloated after being stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week.

This after an around-the-clock international effort to dislodge the massive vessel and reopen the vital shipping lane.

The intense salvage effort has focused on dredging sand from below the front and rear of the ship, while also pulling the ship with tugboats.

Canal authorities said the container ship began to float successfully on Monday, after finally responding to the pulling maneuvers of a number of tugboats.

Workers managed to free the rear part of the ship first, swinging the stern into the canal while the bow was still stuck in the sloping sand that forms the side of the canal.

At that stage, tugboats were used to make sure a gust of wind and currents did not push the stern back into the bank while workers were still working to free the bow.

The six-day blockage cost Egypt an estimated 14 million dollars per day.