Massive ship blocks the Suez Canal

By kees torn - EVER GIVEN, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89201715

A massive ship is blocking the Suez Canal.

On Tuesday morning, the container ship Ever Given was caught by a gust of wind that turned the ship sideways across the channel.

From there the ship ran aground blocking navigation in both directions and trapping a number of other ships.

The canal authorities have re-opened a section of the older canal to enable some ships to by-pass the obstruction.

Refloating the Ever Given will take some days to complete.

The ship was fifth in a northbound convoy, with fifteen vessels behind it when it ran aground.

Hundreds of ships have been impacted by the delay.

Ever Given is a Golden-class container ship, one of the largest in the world. The ship is operated by Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine and is registered in Panama.

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway located in Egypt. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez; and dividing Africa and Asia.

By Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2021, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=102251045