MV Ever Given wedged diagonally across Suez Canal. High-res pic: here
New Delhi:
Maxar’s WorldView-3 satellite collected new imagery this morning at 10:51 am local time of the Ever Given container ship in the Suez Canal. The ship has beached for days, affecting shipping and maritime trade.
These photos show the current status of the ship and the continuing efforts to excavate sand around the bow of the ship.
Suez Canal salvage teams were alternating between dredging and tugging on Sunday to dislodge the massive container ship blocking the busy waterway, while two sources said efforts had been complicated by rock under the ship’s bow, news agency Reuters reported.
Dredgers working to dislodge the stranded vessel have so far shifted 27,000 cubic metres of sand, to a depth of 18 metres, and efforts would continue around the clock according to wind conditions and tides, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.
Overview of Ever Given ship and dredging ops at Suez Canal. High-res pic: Click here
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered preparations for the possible removal of some of the ship’s 18,300 containers, SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told Egypt’s Extra News.
Any operation to lighten the ship’s load would not start before Monday, an SCA source told Reuters, as salvage teams try to take advantage of high tides before they recede next week to manoeuvre the ship free.
The 400-metre long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds more than five days ago, halting shipping traffic in one of the world’s busiest waterways.