- Workers made “significant progress” by freeing Ever Given’s rudder from sediment on Friday.
- But the ship is still stuck in the Suez Canal.
- Authorities say they have no idea when this is going to change.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
The huge container ship stuck in the Suez Canal was a passing success on Friday night, but the ship remains stuck in the near future, officials said on Saturday.
The workers made “significant progress” and were able to free the ship’s rudder from the sediment, Bernhard spokesman Schulte Shipmanagement, the ship’s technical manager, told Insider in a statement.
But the port side of the ship’s bow remains stuck in sand and mud, the spokesman said, noting that 11 tugboats worked throughout Saturday, along with dredging operations to clear sediment.
Container ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, Egypt, on March 27, 2021
Kristin Carringer / Maxar
Ever Given, operated by Evergreen Marine Corporation, ran aground on March 23 due to strong winds from a sandstorm. The ship is one of the largest container ships – about the same length as the Empire State Building.
The ship has been blocking the entire width of the Suez Canal for more than 100 hours. The disaster is costing the global economy about $ 400 million an hour – about 300 other ships are stranded and some have chosen to make a 15,000-mile detour around Africa.
The head of the Suez Canal Authority confirmed to reporters on Saturday that “the stern of the ship began to move towards Suez” on Friday night, but said the workers stopped their efforts when the tide went out.
“We hope that at any moment the ship will be able to slide and move from where it is,” said the president of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, at a news conference.
The head of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, gives a press conference on the grounding of the cargo ship Ever Given on the waterway in Suez on March 27, 2021.
Ahmed Hasan / AFP via Getty Images
He added that he cannot speculate on when the ship will be released.
“Honestly, I can’t say exactly when we will finish. Maybe today, if God wants it. Maybe tomorrow. It depends on the situation; it depends on how the ship responds,” he said. “When it comes to a ship of this size, its behavior with the dredgers is unknown, we don’t know how it will respond to the pull.”
All 25 crew members, all of whom are of Indian nationality, remain safe and “in good health and spirit,” said the BSS spokesman.