Stuck container ship creates giant traffic jam in Egypt's Suez Canal
The massive Rotterdam-bound container ship ran aground Tuesday in poor weather conditions and low visibility, the Suez Canal Authority said.
A giant container ship has been partially re-floated after getting stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for more than 24 hours, causing a traffic jam in one of the world’s busiest waterways.
The MV Ever Given, a 220,000-metric-ton container ship, was headed to the port of Rotterdam when 31 mph winds and a sandstorm created poor visibility. The Panama-flagged ship, which is operated by Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine Corporation, ran aground about six nautical miles from the southern end of the canal.
"Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the Suez Canal from the Red Sea but none of its containers had sunk," the transport company told The Associated Press in a statement.
Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie also blamed the “lack of visibility resulting from bad weather conditions” for the incident, which “led to the loss of the ability to steer the ship and then its stranding.”
