Suez ships on move, but disruption could linger

Ships were back on the move in the Suez Canal on Tuesday (March 30), after the 400 meter long Ever Given was refloated the day before.

The giant container vessel had been jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal for almost a week.

Dutch firm Boskalis worked with the Suez Canal Authority to free the ship.

CEO Peter Berdowski described the task:

"It's all about physics and most physical laws are not that difficult, you could say, but the trick is to make them work for you and not against you and that's what we did."

Nile TV reported that the vessels waiting to transit the canal include dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and more.

Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie said a backlog of 422 ships could soon be cleared:

'' If I move with this pace, in three days, or in three and a half days, I might make up for the loss. We won't sleep, this is a new challenge we are working on. The pilots will work day and night, we will work around the clock until we get through the ships. We have faith in this."

Rabie insisted the Authority was the victim of the accident and not the cause of it, adding that the issue of compensation would have to be settled by an investigation.

The Ever Given's management company said there were no reports of pollution or cargo damage.

After being freed, the vessel will now be checked for seaworthiness in a lake between two sections of the canal.

Shipping group Maersk estimated the knock-on disruptions to global shipping could take weeks or months to unravel.