A containership operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corporation ran aground while transiting the Suez Canal on Tuesday, March 23, causing vessel traffic in both directions to come to a complete standstill.
The incident occurred at around 07:40 local time on Tuesday when wind gusts of up to 40 knots pushed the 400-metre Ever Given sideways, causing it to deviate from its northward course and to make bottom contact some six nautical miles from the canal's southern entrance.
The grounded vessel became lodged sideways within the canal, effectively blocking traffic and compelling the Suez Canal Authority to temporarily reopen an older channel to allow other ships to pass through.
Evergreen said it has urged Ever Given's owner Shoei Kisen to investigate the cause of the grounding and work closely with the canal authority and related agencies to refloat the stranded ship as soon as possible.
Efforts to refloat the grounded vessel were still ongoing as of Thursday, March 25.
