Stuck Container Ship Suez Canal Loose, Traffic Back on Track

The container ship Ever Given, stranded in the Suez Canal, is loose. After the stern of the ship came loose on Monday morning, the front is now also loose.

Eyewitnesses report to Reuters news agency that the ship would be underway under its own steam, but according to Berger Boskalis, the ship is being towed away. The rest of the shipping traffic is also getting going again, according to the canal authority.

The Ever Given had ended up across the southern part of the Suez Canal in a sandstorm last Tuesday.

The vessel, owned by a Japanese shipping company but sailing in a Taiwanese company’s service, is one of the largest container ships in the world, with a length of 400 meters and a beam of almost 60 meters. This makes it very sensitive to crosswind. When the ship turned, it lay against both banks of the canal.

The specialized Dutch company Smit Salvage, part of the dredging and maritime service provider Boskalis, was involved in the liberation operation. It was dredged, and eleven ordinary tugs and two powerful sea tugs were deployed.

CEO Peter Berdowski says he is “very proud” of “the excellent work that the salvage team on site and the many colleagues from Smit Salvage and Boskalis have done at home”.