Ship stuck in Suez Canal finally freed

The ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal finally broke free on Monday.

The Panamanian-flagged, 220,000-metric-ton container ship Ever Given was “successfully refloated” on Monday, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement. The authority used “push and tow maneuvers” to reposition the ship away from the canal’s bank. When Ever Given was stuck, it was only 4 meters (13 feet) from the bank, according to the authority.

Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal in northern Egypt last Tuesday, creating a traffic jam of more than 100 ships. Around 12% of global trade goes through the strategic Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Local authorities used numerous tugboats to free the ship.

Ever Given is en route to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, according to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.

The ship was stuck diagonally across the canal. It was first moved away from the bank before its direction was fully restored, according to the authority.

Shipping traffic resumed on Monday following Ever Green’s refloating, and it subsequently began sailing through the center of the canal surrounded by tugboats, Reuters reported.

Suez Canal Authority chairman Adm. Osama Rabie praised the canal workers who freed the ship, saying they performed a “heroic feat” and did their “patriotic duty impeccably,” according to the authority’s statement.