Ever Given, Giant Shipping Vessel Stranded On Suez Canal, Nearly Fully Re-Floated: Report

The giant container ship Ever Given shipping vessel, after being stuck on the world's busiest trading channel Suez Canal for nearly a week, is near to being fully refloated by engineers on Monday, as per a report from Reuters.

What Happened: The vessel's engines have restarted and the busy waterway is expected to be reopened soon, people familiar with the matter told the newswire.

Ever Given has straightened in the canal and will reportedly undergo preliminary inspections before being moved to clear the path.

The Associated Press had previously reported that the vessel was “partially refloated” but continues to block traffic through the Suez Canal.  adding that satellite data from MarineTraffic.com showed that the ship’s bulbous bow that was earlier firmly lodged in the canal’s eastern bank, had been freed from the shore.

The re-floating efforts involving ten tug boats began after diggers removed 27,000 cubic meters of sand, going deep into the banks of the canal, according to AP.

The vessel is currently being secured after being re-floated, Inchcape Services INCPY said in a tweet earlier, without providing any further information on how soon will the waterway be cleared for traffic, where more than 450 ships are stuck. 

Why It Matters: The Suez Canal is one of the busiest trading channels and contributes to about 12% of the global trade. A blockage at the canal implies a huge delay and financial loss for the global supply chain already reeling from the woes of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The backlog is one more strain for global supply chains already stretched by the pandemic. Some ships have already opted for the long and expensive trip around the southern tip of Africa instead of Suez.

CNBC reports, quoting the shipping data and news company Lloyd's List, that the Suez Canal blockage is costing around $400 million an hour in trade.

Price Action: Shares of Inchcape closed at $10.65 on March 12, 2021.

Photo by Pierre Markuse on Flickr