In a significant development, the stranded container ship Ever Given which blocked the Suez Canal six days ago was re-floated on Sunday (March 29). Reuters reported citing Inch Cape Shipping Services that the container ship is currently being secured.
Inchcape, a global provider of marine services said on Twitter, tweeted that Ever Given container ship was successfully re-floated at 4.30 am local time.
It is learnt that crude oil prices went down after news broke that ships had been re-floated, with Brent crude falling by USD 1 per barrel to USD 63.67.
The 400 metre-long Ever Given container ship ran aground early on March 23 as it travelled north from the Red Sea towards the Mediterranean, twisting diagonally across the width of the canal.
The principal causes were high winds and a sand storm that reduced visibility and rendered the ship unable to keep a straight course through the channel, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
As the incident happened, stormy weather was buffeting Egypt, forcing the closure of several Mediterranean and Red Sea ports. However, the head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said Saturday that "technical or human errors" may be to blame for the grounding of a giant container ship in the crucial waterway.