Container Ship Finally Freed From The Suez Canal

After six days, the massive container ship that was blocking the Suez Canal has been freed. The Ever Given, which is as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall, was navigating the canal during a sandstorm last week when it ran aground due to high winds and low visibility.

Salvage crews worked around the clock trying to free the 220,000-ton vessel. They dredged over one million cubic feet of sand as more than a dozen tugboats struggled to free the Ever Given. After six days, they finally managed to free the ship and began towing it the Great Bitter Lake, where inspectors can check the ship for damage.

"We pulled it off!" Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, the salvage firm hired to free the Ever Given, said in a statement. "I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given … thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again."

The canal has not been reopened to shipping traffic just yet. Crews will need to inspect the canal to ensure it wasn't damaged when the Ever Given ran aground. It could take several days before the backlog of ships is cleared, and traffic through the canal returns to normal.

Photo: Getty Images