Unclogging the Suez Canal: The massive container ship, Ever Given, blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal for nearly a week now has been partially refloated

Inchcape, a leading provider of marine services and supply logistics has announced that Ever Given, the ship clogging the #Suez canal, has been partially re-floated in the Suez Canal, raising hopes that the busy waterway will soon be reopened for a huge backlog of ships.

The 400-metre (430-yard) long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early last Tuesday, halting shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

According to a #Bloomberg report, the headway in the rescue attempt came after diggers removed 27,000 cubic meters of sand, going deep into the banks of the canal.

The Suez Canal authorities noted that while the ship is floating again, it wasn’t immediately clear how soon the canal would be open to traffic.

The giant vessel which ran aground about a week ago has become a major challenge for global trade, blocking one of the world’s most important trade paths- a path that accounts for about 12% of global trade and 30% of global container ship traffic daily.

This spiked tensions and concerns about the strain of this disruption on the global supply chains, which has been stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The clogging of Ever Given has led to a logjam of more than 450 ships, while some ships have already opted for the long and expensive trip around the southern tip of Africa instead of Suez.

The number of ships waiting to enter the Suez Canal now exceeds the size of the entire U.S. Navy fleet.

Riding on the backs of this news, #Crude oil prices fell after news of progress in refloating the ship, with Brent crude down by $1 per barrel to $63.67. Shares of Taiwan-listed Evergreen Marine Corp — the vessel’s lessor — rose 3.3%.