Efforts continue to free ship stranded in Suez Canal

By Muhammad Khubaisah

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Suez Canal Authority on Thursday resumed efforts to free the container ship that has been stranded in the Suez Canal since Tuesday.

The vessel, Ever Given, ran aground causing a backlog of ships in the canal.

The rescue teams suspended the float operation of the ship on Wednesday evening to resume this morning, Bloomberg quoted officials in the Suez Canal as saying on Thursday.

Egyptian officials said that more rescue members will arrive at the location to speed up the flotation operation.

According to a Bloomberg report, about 180 ships remain stranded in the Red and Mediterranean seas.

However, the Suez Canal Authority said on Wednesday evening that the ships coming from the Mediterranean towards the Red Sea resumed passing through the canal, without giving further details.

The container ship that was stranded, with a length of 400 meters (1,312 feet) and a width of 59 meters (194 feet), and a cargo of 224,000 tons, was sailing from China to Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The Suez Canal, which is considered one of the most important canals and straits around the world, is the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia and it is one of the main sources of foreign currency for Egypt.