The Ever Given ship, which is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, ran aground diagonally along the one-lane stretch of the South Channel on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid strong winds and a storm. of dust. said the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in a statement.
It now blocks traffic in both directions through one of the busiest shipping channels in the world.
Maritime services firm GAC issued a note to customers overnight saying efforts continued to free the ship with tugs, but that wind conditions and the large size of the ship “made the operation difficult”.
The boat tracking software shows five tugs surrounding the Ever done and three more towards it. However, the ship’s GPS signal shows only minor changes in its position during the last 24 hours.
Dozens of ships, including other large container vessels, tanker trucks carrying oil and gas and bulk vessels carrying grain, have backed up at both ends of the canal to create one of the worst sea traffic jams seen in years.
Approximately 30% of the world’s volume of maritime containers transits the 193-kilometer Suez Canal daily and approximately 12% of total world trade in all goods.
Shipping experts say that while the blockade is unlikely to be lifted in the next 24 to 48 hours, some shipping companies may be forced to redirect ships around the southern end of Africa, which would add about a week to the trip.
But the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority told the media that despite the blockade, some cargoes were able to move south and that efforts to evict Ever given would continue.