Suez Ship Is Refloated in First Step to Clearing Canal

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Work to free the giant container vessel blocking the Suez Canal is proving successful and will continue within the next few hours, a key step toward getting one of the world’s most important trade arteries moving again.

The Ever Given has been re-floated in an operation early Monday and maneuvers are scheduled to resume again at about 11:30 a.m. local time, as the water level rises to its maximum height, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement.

Efforts are underway to prepare the giant ship to cross the canal and out of the chanel, Mohab Mamish, the Egyptian president’s adviser for the Suez Canal, said.

“Today we will start our plan for all the ships to cross the canal,” he said. “It could take around one week to get all ships out of the Suez canal corridor.”

The Ever Given -- which is longer than the canal is wide and was wedged across the waterway -- has been stuck since Tuesday, causing a backlog of hundreds of ships and snarling global supply lines that were already under pressure.

At last count, 450 vessels were stuck, waiting or headed to the waterway that’s a conduit for about 12% of world trade. Others have diverted to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.

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