Supermoon and superhuman effort end the Suez Canal blockade
According to Suez Canal officials, it could still take nearly four days to clear the bottleneck.
FollowThe Suez Canal Authority has confirmed that the 1,300-foot container ship 'Ever Given' that had blocked the Suez Canal for six days has been freed and is now moving north.
The Panamanian container ship was successfully refloated after rescuers utilised the above-average high tides triggered by the Supermoon on Sunday to trigger a series of push and tow manoeuvres that resulted in 80 per cent restoration of the vessel's direction.
The Moon's gravitational pull generates a tidal force that causes water to bulge out on the side closest to the Moon and the side farthest from the Moon.
These bulges of water represent high tides. The highest tides occur when the Moon is new or complete.
Boskalis, a salvage company that helped with the operation, issued a statement that started in a jubilatory mood.
"We pulled it off! Boskalis announces the successful salvage operation of the grounded 20,000 TEU container vessel Ever Given in the Suez Canal. With a length of 400 meters and a width of nearly 60 meters, this giant ship had been wedged in this vital shipping route since 23 March 2021, blocking all shipping traffic."
The container ship was refloated at 3 pm Egypt Standard Time (6 pm IST on Monday). Three hours later, standard navigation resumed on both directions of the Canal.
Around 422 ships had been reportedly waiting in line to cross the Suez Canal. After the navigation resumed, ships carrying livestock were given priority access through the channel.
According to Suez Canal officials, it could take nearly four days to clear the bottleneck.
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