Suez Canal news – live: Ever Given free from bank and moving, authorities say

Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com shows that Ever Given is close to entering Great Bitter Lake, the midway body of water where it will undergo maintenance before continuing its journey.

The website confirmed that no other vessels have yet passed by the site of the canal where the vessel was stuck.

Tugs that worked to free the ship were shown making their way back to ports at the northern and southern ends of the canal.

Paul Adams, director at management consultancy Vendigital, which works with transportation and infrastructure consultants, said the shipping industry “can breathe a sigh of relief” now that the Ever Given has been freed, although the backlog of vessels could take “several weeks” to ease.

“Further up the chain, Western companies reliant on raw materials or parts from Asia should expect some disruption to deliveries over the next few weeks,” he said. “The impact will vary by sector but many manufacturers are dealing with reduced volumes at present.

“The speed at which global trade picked up at the end of last year was a surprise for many manufacturers and where appropriate, they have been keeping more stock in the system to build in additional agility. The Suez Canal blockage is yet another example of an unforeseen event causing significant supply chain disruption and it further underlines the importance of creating a more resilient operating structure.”

A welcome sight for business owners everywhere.

This image shows the Ever Given being towed towards the Great Bitter Lake after being re-floated today.

The Ever Given is on its way north to the Great Bitter Lake, a large, wide stretch of water about halfway along the Suez Canal, accompanied by a small flotilla of tug boats.

There, she will undergo an inspection.

Her technical manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), has said previously it would “cooperate fully with the authorities in any investigations”.

That investigation will run its course, but there is also the matter of the rougly 20,000 containers she is carrying, which will need to get to their destination.

Following the re-floating of the huge ship, BSM said in a statement: “BSM extends its deepest gratitude to all parties involved in the emergency response, including the Suez Canal Authority, SMIT Salvage and the crew on board, who worked tirelessly to free the vessel and to restore navigability in the Suez Canal.”

The boss of the salvage firm called in to free the Ever Given has praised workers at the site after they were put under “unprecedented” time pressure.

Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis, said in a statement: “Shortly following the grounding of the Ever Given we were requested through SMIT Salvage to provide assistance with the salvage operation.

“I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given on 29 March at 3.05pm local time, thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again.

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding job done by the team on site as well as the many SMIT Salvage and Boskalis colleagues back home to complete this challenging operation under the watchful eye of the world.

“The time pressure to complete this operation was evident and unprecedented.”

About 30,000 cubic metres of sand was dredged from around Ever Given during the rescue, Boskalis said.

The vessel is being towed to a location outside the main channel for a full inspection, the company added.

The Ever Given ship, which has blocked the Suez Canal for six days now, has been successfully refloated and is “no longer grounded”, the canal authority has confirmed.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that the massive container ship was fully floated on Monday and traffic in the waterway would resume.

A Suez Canal service firm says the Ever Given has been set free and is on the move.

Reuters separately cited the Suez Canal Authority as saying the vessel had been freed.

The Ever Given situation has provided endless opportunities for Twitter users to poke fun.

Here are a few of this reporter’s favourites.

A massive container ship that has been blocking the Suez Canal for six days has swung back across the channel amid high wind on Monday, after being partially refloated.

The Ever Given ship’s bow was afloat in the water despite its change of position and the vessel had not become regrounded, according to Reuters.

The Ever Given has swung back across the Suez channel amid high wind on Monday ahead of the next attempt to fully dislodge it, a witness and a canal source told Reuters.

The source said the ship’s bow was afloat in the water despite its change of position, and that the vessel had not run agroun a second time.

It has already been partially re-floated.