The container ship Ever Given, which has run aground in the Suez Canal, has been moved slightly for the first time. This was reported on Saturday, March 27 by the Israeli edition of The Jerusalem Post, citing sources.
It is clarified that this was successful after more than 20 thousand tons of soil were removed from the emergency site.
Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, said the container ship could be floated as early as Saturday as efforts to rescue the ship are going well, which is encouraging.
A day earlier, Dutch specialists from SMIT Salvage announced a plan to re-float the vessel. It consists of several elements: first, they pump water out of the vessel to make it lighter, then they remove the sand from under it with the help of dredging vessels and equipment, after which they mobilize powerful tugs to pull the vessel out into the water.
Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given ran aground south of the Suez Canal on 23 March, blocking traffic. The Japanese company Shohei Kisen, the ship’s operator, claims that strong winds were the cause of the incident.
It was reported that there are more than 20 thousand heavy containers on board, which were transported from China to the Dutch port of Rotterdam. This is one of the largest vessels in its class: its length reaches 400 m, width – 59 m.
The day before, US President Joe Biden said that the American authorities are studying ways to help remove Ever Given from the chalk and unblock the movement. According to him, the United States has the capabilities and equipment that most countries do not have.