U.S. Navy offers to help clear cargo ship from Suez Canal

The U.S. Navy has offered to help Egyptian officials to clear the Suez Canal, where a cargo ship has been stuck and blocking all traffic for days, a spokesperson said on Friday.

The cargo ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal on Tuesday after a gust of wind pushed it sideways. With the ship lodged in the canal, no traffic can pass through. The blockage is costing the global economy about $400 million per hour, according to some estimates.

The Navy is prepared to help Egyptian officials clear the canal and has offered assistance, Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.

"We have offered and stand ready to assist Egypt, and will look to support any specific request we receive. We continue to monitor and assess the situation, but have nothing to provide on any potential specific support at this time."

CNN first reported the Navy's involvement in the Suez situation.

The White House on Friday also confirmed it has offered Egypt help to remove the ship and get traffic flowing again.

“As part of our active diplomatic dialogue with Egypt, we have offered U.S. assistance to Egyptian authorities to help reopen the canal,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a briefing. “We are consulting with our Egyptian partners about how we can best support their efforts. So those conversations are ongoing and hopefully we'll have more to say about that soon.”