Giant ship moves slightly but Suez Canal blockade remains

‘Ship’s stern began to move towards Suez, and that was a positive sign until 11pm (2100 GMT), but the tide fell significantly and we stopped. We expect that at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot’

Efforts to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal had allowed its stern and rudder to move on Saturday, but it remained unclear when it could be refloated, the head of the canal authority said.

The 400-metre long Ever Given became wedged diagonally across a southern section of the canal amid high winds early on Tuesday, disrupting global shipping by blocking one of the world’s busiest waterways.

About 15% of world shipping traffic transits the canal, and hundreds of vessels are waiting to pass through the waterway once the blockage has been cleared.

Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie said he hoped it would not be necessary to resort to removing some of the 18,300 containers from the ship to lighten its load, but that strong tides and winds were complicating efforts to free it.

“The ship’s stern began to move towards Suez, and that was a positive sign until 11 pm (2100 GMT) at night, but the tide fell significantly and we stopped,” Rabie told journalists in Suez.

“We expect that at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot it is in,” he added.