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HomeWorldMiddle EastEgypt's Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship

Egypt’s Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship

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Daily US Times: A giant container ship, registered in Panama and operated by the shipping company Evergreen, has become wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal, blocking one of the world’s busiest trade routes.

Dozens of vessels are stuck, waiting for rescue boats to free the 400m-long ship, which was knocked off course by strong winds.

Egyptian authorities has reopened the Canal’s older channel to divert some ships until the grounded ship can move again.

The blockage of the ship the length of four football pitches sent oil prices climbing on international markets.

About 12% of global trade passes through the Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Europe and Asia.

The Ever Given ship was bound for the port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China and was passing northwards through the Suez canal on its way to the Mediterranean.

The 200,000 tonne vessel, ran aground and became lodged sideways across the waterway at about 07:40 local time (05:40 GMT) on Tuesday.

At 400m long and 59m wide, the ship, built in 2018 and operated by Taiwanese transport company Evergreen Marine, has blocked the path of other vessels which are now trapped in lines in both directions.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the company that manages the container ship, has denied earlier reports that the vessel had already been partially refloated.

BSM said in a statement that its “immediate priorities are to safely re-float the vessel and for marine traffic in the Suez Canal to safely resume”.

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