An operation is intensifying to dislodge a giant container ship that has blocked the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, since Tuesday, triggering fears of a significant toll on global trade, DPA news agency reported.
The Panama-flagged ship, Ever Given, ran aground in the canal on Tuesday due to a sandstorm.
The accident is preventing more than 200 other cargo vessels from passing through the major shipping route, according to the trade journal Lloyd’s List.
Giant tug boats and a suction dredger are being used to free the 400-metre-long tanker.
The suction dredger aims to remove 15,000 to 20,000 cubic metres of sand around the bow of the ship, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.
The estimated removal is designed to reach a depth of 12 to 16 metres that can allow refloating the vessel, SCA added.
The blockage is estimated to be holding up goods worth 9.6 billion dollars per day in the passageway, which handles about 12 per cent of the overall global trade, according to shipping data.
At least 18,000 ships pass through the canal annually, according to Egyptian officials.
Worries are mounting that the dislodging operation could take weeks.
However, Shoei Kisen, the Japanese owner of the grounded ship, said Friday it was trying to refloat the tanker this weekend.
“We are aiming to free the ship by Saturday night Japan time,” Yumi Shinohara, a company spokeswoman, told dpa.
Five experts sent by an insurance company have been working with local authorities and the Taiwanese operator of the ship, Evergreen Marine, to deal with the situation, Shinohara said.
