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A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a ‘stranded whale’ sent new shock waves through global trade on Thursday as officials stopped all ships entering the canal and the rescue company said the release could take weeks.
The 400m (430 yards) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, blocks two-way transit through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for the trade in petroleum, agricultural products and manufactured goods connecting Asia and Europe.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally on the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a storm of dust.
“We cannot rule out that it could take weeks, depending on the situation,” Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told Dutch TV show Nieuwsuur.
Several dozen ships, including other large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk carriers carrying grain backed up at either end of the canal to create one of the worst traffic jams in years .
The SCA, which had allowed some ships to enter the canal in hopes the blockage could be cleared, said it temporarily suspended all traffic on Thursday.
Thirteen ships that sailed south of Port Said in a convoy on Wednesday anchored in the Bitter Lakes holding area until navigation could resume, he said.
Berdowski said the bow and stern of the ship had been raised on either side of the canal.
“It’s like a huge stranded whale. It is a huge weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of weight reduction by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tugs and dredging from the sand, ”he said.
About 30% of the world’s daily shipping container volume passes through the 193 km (120 mile) Suez Canal and about 12% of total world trade in all goods.
The vessel’s GPS signal shows only minor changes in its position over the past 24 hours.
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