The company that owns the ship blocking the Suez Canal has said it faces “extreme difficulties” in unblocking it.

The Japanese firm Shoei kisen, owner of the Panamanian-flagged vessel blocking the Suez Canal, said he was working with local authorities to resolve the situation, “extremely difficult”, in the maritime passage, one of the busiest in the world.

In a statement released Thursday, the Japanese shipping company confirmed that it was the owner of the Ever Given vessel, operated by the Taiwanese company. Evergreen, which was stopped because of a blackout last Tuesday in the Suez Canal, blocking the passage of dozens of ships on this route.

“In cooperation with the local authorities and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, a ship management company, we are trying to refloat (the ship), but we are facing extreme difficulties.”, He said Shoei Kisen Kaisha in a statement on their website.

“We sincerely apologize for causing great concern to the ships in the Suez Canal and to those planning to pass through the canal.”, He said.

Built in September 2018, the Ever Given has approximately 400 meters in length, 59 of beam, displaces 224,000 tons and carries a crew of 25, all of Indian nationality, según de talló Shosei Kisen.

No injuries to the crew were detected no oil leaks on the MV Ever Given, the firm added.

The ship “tipped over at kilometer 151 of the canal crossing it from the south from China on the way to Rotterdam,” the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, who is working on unblocking the ship, said the day before. has kept the seaway blocked since last Tuesday.

The boat it deviated from its course and ran aground in a sandstorm on Tuesday.

Although Egyptian tugs are working to free the gigantic container ship, the blockade threatens to disrupt one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes for days.

Toshiaki Fujiwara, funcionario de Shoei Kisen Kaisha, dijo a la AFP: “We still don’t know how long it will take“Get the boat afloat.”

“We haven’t heard of any particular progress. Now they are trying to dig up the dirt under the bow of the ship. Tug operations will resume when the tide rises, ”he added.

He said the ship had an insurance policy, but the company was not aware of the details or costs involved at this point.

“This is only the beginningSaid Fujiwara.

(With information from EFE Yes APF)

KEEP READING: