(UTV | COLOMBO) – A huge container ship that has been wedged in the Suez Canal since Tuesday has been partially refloated.
Video posted on social media on Monday appeared to show the stern of the Ever Given swung towards the canal bank, opening space in the channel. Maritime services company Inchcape also reported the vessel was freed.
Refloating the ship has been a lengthy effort involving tugboats and dredgers.
The canal, which runs through Egypt, is one of the busiest trade routes.
The grounding of the Ever Given – part of the Evergreen fleet – meant other ships had to reroute around Africa.
After several days of failing to free the vessel, on Sunday canal officials began preparing to remove some of roughly 20,000 containers on board the ship in order to lighten the load.