[News] Suez Canal reopens after giant stranded ship is freed

[Sxynix]

 

Traffic has resumed in the Suez Canal after a stranded container ship blocking it for nearly a week was finally freed by salvage crews.

Tug boats honked their horns in celebration as the 400m-long (1,300ft) Ever Given was dislodged on Monday with the help of dredgers and tug boats.

Hundreds of ships are waiting to pass through the canal which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea via Egypt.

It is one of the world's busiest trade routes.

The cost of the Suez Canal blockage
How do you refloat a giant cargo ship?
In pictures: Efforts to shift huge ship from canal
Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch salvage company Boskalis, said the Ever Given had been refloated at 15:05 (13:05 GMT) on Monday, "thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again".

The Ever Given on the move
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionThe Ever Given on the move on Monday
The vessel was towed to Great Bitter Lake, which sits between two sections of the canal to the north of where the ship got stuck. It will undergo safety checks.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi thanked Egyptians for their efforts in "ending the crisis" in the canal.

Presentational grey line
A strong sense of achievement
By Sally Nabil, BBC Arabic bilingual correspondent, Suez Port

Spirits here are quite high. There's a strong sense of achievement. Some experts had warned that it might take weeks to free the Ever Given. But the high tide, as well as the specialist equipment brought in, all helped the rescue operation.

Now the authorities will have to address another challenge - congestion. The head of the Suez Canal Authority said that hundreds of stranded vessels would be allowed through the canal on a first-come-first-served basis, though there might be some exceptions to specific ships, based on the types of goods on board.

The blockage put the authorities under immense pressure, given the major impact it had on global trade. For Egyptians, the canal is not only a source of national pride, but it also provides the economy with much needed foreign currency.

A couple of days ago, I asked Osama Rabie, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, whether he was concerned that some shipping companies might be discouraged from sending such giant ships through the canal in the future. He replied that there was no alternative to the Suez Canal, which he said was fast and safe. So, it's not just about time here, but also about security.