STUCK SUEZ CANAL BOAT PARTIALLY AFLOAT AGAIN

After five nights and five days of non-stop work by several teams to get the Suez Canal unblocked, the Ever Given is afloat again. Well, partially.

The massive cargo ship has been blocking one of the world’s most important shipping routes since the 23rd of March.

Today, the Egyptian news channels reported that 80% of the 400 meter-long ship has been tugged back into position, but that it’s not fully afloat again.

It took excavators, working around the clock, to remove millions of tons of sand from the shore in order to allow 11 tugboats to pull it away from the shore and into the water.

The New York Times reports that, even though teams worked hard to get this far, they were ultimately assisted by forces more powerful than any machine rushed to the scene.

Thanks to the moon and the tides, water levels swelled overnight. The hours spent digging and excavating millions of tons of earth around the Ever Given paid off as the ship slowly regained buoyancy.

Experts have been estimating the value of the disaster at $10 billion per day, with world trade suffering daily. There are hundreds of ships now waiting in line to enter the canal from both sides. It’s estimated that it will take weeks for them to get through once the Ever Green has been through.

The size of the ship as well as the narrow canal have added to the problem.

Watch the DW News video below for more on the Ever Given ship that’s blocking the Suez Canal.

Image credit: Fox Business