The United States Navy will assist the Egyptian government in the operation to unearth a giant container ship currently stranded on the Suez Canal.
MV Ever Given, owned by Japanese company Shoei Kisen KK, hit the bottom of the channel on Tuesday.
Since then, the blockade has severely disrupted traffic on the channel. The ship started moving on Wednesday, but remains stranded on Friday.
US Navy officials have pledged to send a team of experts, including engineers specializing in dredging operations, to help Egyptian officials dig up the ship.
“We offer and are ready to help Egypt and we will seek to support any specific request we receive,” Commander. Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica L. McNulty said in an email to Fox News. “We continue to monitor and assess the situation, but we have nothing to provide about any specific potential support at this time.”
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At a press conference at the White House on Friday, press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the United States “offered help” to the Egyptians.
“The Egyptians want to do this alone, we are only here to help them,” a Pentagon official told Fox News. “We are there to advise in whatever capacity they desire.”
CNN was the first to report on the sending of a Navy team to Egypt.
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The channel is responsible for about 10% of the entire global commercial flow. On Friday, maritime congestion grew to more than 200 vessels, with some vessels changing course as the dredgers continue to try to free Ever Given.
“The Suez Canal will spare no effort to ensure the restoration of navigation and serve the global trade movement,” said Lt. Gen. Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority.
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Ever Given is larger than the Empire State Building and is grounded about 6 km from the southern entrance to the canal.
Experts say it can take up to a week, at best, to release the ship, but it is more likely to take weeks.
Interruptions can cause up to $ 10 billion in losses a day, according to some experts.
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Coincidentally, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is currently in the Eastern Mediterranean during this latest “Suez Crisis”.
Then President Dwight D. Eisenhower considered the Suez Crisis in 1956 to be the biggest foreign policy failure of his presidency.