CAIRO, Egypt — The giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week was fully floated on Monday and traffic in the waterway would resume, the canal authority said in a statement.
Tugs were working to free the bow of the ship after dislodging the stern Monday morning.
A Reuters witness saw the ship moving and a shipping tracker and Egyptian TV showed it positioned in the centre of the canal.
Marine traffic websites showed images of the ship away from the banks of the Suez Canal for the first time in seven days.“Yes!” said the salvage company Boskalis spokesperson Martijn Schuttevaer when asked by CNN if the bow was free.
Egypt state TV showed the ship fully floating.
The salvage company which helped in the efforts to free a ship blocking the Suez Canal said in a statement, “We pulled it off!”
“Boskalis announces the successful salvage operation of the grounded 20,000 TEU container vessel Ever Given in the Suez Canal. With a length of 400 meters and a width of nearly 60 meters this giant ship had been wedged in this vital shipping route since 23 March, 2021 blocking all shipping traffic ever since.”
Videos show the ship floating in the Suez Canal after the bow was freed following intense tugging efforts Monday morning.
The ship is currently being tugged toward the Great Bitter Lake where it will park for inspections and an investigation, the head of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said, according to state-run Al Ahram newspaper.
Marine traffic showed the ship moving at a speed of 1.5 knots north toward the Great Bitter Lake.