After being stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week, the Ever Given container ship has been successfully refloated, the former head of the canal has claimed, following an around-the-clock international effort to dislodge the massive vessel and reopen the global shipping lane.
The former head of the Suez Canal and Egyptian Presidential seaport adviser, Mohab Mamish told US Media that the canal is expected to be ready for passage by today.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has not yet officially confirmed that the ship has been dislodged.
A video sent to US media outlet from employees working on the rescue operation shows the back of the Ever Given dislodged from the Suez Canal bank on March 29.
Video footage from the rescue operation show the stern, the back of the ship, has dislodged and is facing the canal after significant movement. The status of the bow, or the front of the ship, has not yet been confirmed.
“Thank God the ship has floated”
People at the canal began cheering as the news came in. “Thank God the ship has floated,” one person can be heard saying in a video, as the surrounding boats blow their horns in celebration. “God is great. The ship has floated.”
“We can confirm movement of the Ever Given, it appears to be partially refloated, there is still some work to do until it’s completely freed, but progress has been made.”
Marine Traffic said.
Crews from Egypt and around the world have been working nonstop to try to refloat the ship, with the operation involving 10 tug boats, sand dredges, and salvage companies working for the past seven days to free the ship.
Previous efforts have failed — but this latest attempt is being executed during high tide where the water in the channel is at its highest.
The Ever Given, a 224,000-ton vessel almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, ran aground in the Egyptian canal on March 23. A massive effort to salvage the ship has focused on dredging sand from below the front and rear of the ship, before pulling the ship with tugboats.
Rescue teams started digging deeper and closer to the ship on Sunday, with dredging reaching 18 meters (59 feet) at the front of the ship, the SCA said in a statement.
Over 27,000 cubic meters (953,000 cubic feet) of sand has been removed so far, said SCA head Osama Rabie. Their efforts haven’t succeeded in moving the ship much — but its rudders and propellers were freed on Friday, allowing for some movement.
