A container ship operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp. remains wedged diagonally across the Suez Canal. On Thursday, Taiwan’s transportation ministry said that the Panama-flagged Ever Given had been pushed into its position by strong winds. It said eight tugboats were dispatched Wednesday to try and dislodge the vessel, but to no avail.
12% of world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal every day, meaning that dislodging the ship is of great importance to the global economy. The container vessel is loaded with consumer goods from China and headed for Europe.
The ship’s owner, the Japanese company Shoei Kisen, has apologized for the accident and says that it was working to resolve the issue. The company reported that there are no injuries or oil spillage as a result of the ship running aground.
According to salvage experts, the best time to extricate the vessel would be at high tide, expected on Sunday and Monday. However if that fails, the next opportunity may not come for another 14 days, which could mean that the ship could be stuck in the canal into mid-April.