Suez Canal: ships sail into Red Sea as 'Ever Given' makes way for global logistics

Canal authorities are hoping that more than 100 ships can exit the passage today

A picture released by Egypt's Suez Canal Authority shows a man waving the Egyptian flag after Panama-flagged MV 'Ever Given' container ship was fully dislodged from the banks of the Suez. AFP

Passage through the Suez Canal resumed on Monday evening after salvage teams freed a colossal container ship stuck in the waterway for nearly a week.

Navigation restarted at 6pm local time, said Lt Gen Osama Rabei, the head of the Suez Canal Authority.

From the city of Suez, ships stacked with containers could be seen exiting the canal into the Red Sea.

At least 113 of more than 420 vessels that had waited for Ever Given container ship to be freed were expected to cross the canal by Tuesday morning, Gen Rabei said.

Unavoidably –due to the narrow confines of the waterway and the sheer backlog of vessels – the first ship to exit the canal was the 200,000 tonne sister ship to the Ever Given, the Ever Globe, which at almost 400 metres in length, has similar dimensions.

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  This satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies shows a close up overview of the MV Ever Given container ship and tugboats in the Suez Canal. AFP / Maxar Technologies

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  The guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61), left, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) sail behind the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during a Suez Canal transit, in this picture taken April 2, 2021 and released by U.S. Navy. Reuters

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  In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt. AP Photo

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  A spectator waves as the Ever Given container ship moves along the Suez Canal towards Ismailia after being freed from the canal bank in Suez, Egypt. Bloomberg

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  A man waves at the Panama-flagged MV 'Ever Given' container ship as it is tugged in Egypt's Suez Canal after it was fully dislodged from the banks, near Suez city. AFP

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  A view shows Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters

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  A handout photograph made available by the Suez Canal Authority shows the Ever Given container ship after it was refloated in the Suez Canal, Egypt. EPA

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  A handout photograph made available by the Suez Canal Authority shows the Ever Given container ship after it was refloated in the Suez Canal, Egypt. The head of the Suez Canal Authority announced on 29 March that the large container ship, which ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23 March, is now free floating after responding to the pulling maneuvers. EPA

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  People watch Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, that has been stuck sideways and blocked traffic in Egypt's Suez Canal, move past after it was set free by salvage teams. AP Photo

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  People watch as the container ship 'Ever Given' is refloated, unblocking the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt. This morning the container ship came partly unstuck from the shoreline, where it ran aground in the canal last Tuesday, and later resumed its course shortly after 3pm local time. Getty Images

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  A view of the Panama-flagged MV 'Ever Given' (operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine) container ship, a 400-metre- (1,300-foot-)long and 59-metre wide vessel, as it remains lodged sideways impeding traffic across Egypt's Suez Canal waterway. AFP

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  Ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it was fully floated in Suez Canal, Egypt. Suez Canal Authority/Handout via Reuters

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  The container ship 'Ever Given' is refloated, unblocking the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt. This morning the container ship came partly unstuck from the shoreline, where it ran aground in the canal last Tuesday, and later resumed its course shortly after 3pm local time. Getty Images

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  The container ship 'Ever Given' is moving in the Suez Canal, Egypt. The Suez Canal Authority on 29 March said that traffic is to resume after the large container ship 'Ever Given' was refloated. EPA

Dozens of ships soon followed, marking the end of a crisis that had clogged one of the world's most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce.

Helped by the tides, a flotilla of tugboats wrenched the bulbous bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the canal's sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since March 23.

The tugs blared their horns in jubilation as they guided the Ever Given through the water after days of futility that had captivated the world, drawing scrutiny and social media ridicule.

The Ever Given sailed to the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south ends of the canal, for inspection, said Evergreen Marine Corp, a Taiwan-based company that operates the ship.