The Egyptian Suez Canal Authority announced the temporary suspension of navigation in the canal, as attempts to float the delinquent giant container ship continue for the third day, while several parties, including Russia, estimate that the opening of the shipping lane may take weeks.

For its part, the operating company of the delinquent ship said that an attempt was made this morning, Thursday morning, to float the vessel "Ever Given", which had failed, and that another attempt would take place later today, and two rescue companies were hired from the Netherlands and Japan to work on clearing the ship.

In the statement issued today, the government Suez Canal Authority said that the ship’s 400-meter-long strand on Tuesday morning “is mainly due to the lack of visibility resulting from bad weather conditions due to the country's passing through a dust storm, which led to the loss of the ship’s ability to steer,” And then its delinquency. "

She added that the current rescue operations are taking place "through the authority's management of movements and by means of 8 locomotives, most notably the locomotive Baraka 1 with a tensile strength of 160 tons, as the thrust is carried out from both sides of the ship, and the load of the balance water is reduced to float the ship, and the navigation movement resumes in the canal." At night, rescue operations slow down.

The authority indicated that the navigation movement in the canal witnessed yesterday, Wednesday, the crossing of 13 ships from Port Said within the northern convoy. It was intended to complete their march in the canal; however, as the ship's floatation work continued, it was necessary to move according to the alternative scenario by waiting in the Great Lakes region until the resumption of movement Navigating completely after floating the ship, God willing. "

Later, the authority said it had studied the option of drilling around the delinquent vessel during a meeting with the Dutch rescue team.

A satellite image showing the position of the giant ship in the (European) shipping course

According to some estimates, it is not excluded that the task of floating the ship will be lengthy due to the delicacy of the situation.

Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that reopening the Suez Canal for navigation may take weeks.

Peter Berdowski, chief executive of the Dutch company Boskalis, which is trying to float the ship, said it was too early to say how long the mission might take.

"We cannot rule out that it will take weeks, depending on the situation," he told a Dutch television program.

A huge whale

He added that the bow and stern of the ship were raised on both sides of the canal, and stated that it is like "a huge whale stranding on the shore. It is an enormous weight on the sand. We may have to combine weight reduction by transporting containers, oil and water from the ship, in addition to using tugboats and shoveling." Sand".

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese charter company, Evergreen, said that the Japanese company, "Choi Kisen", which owns the ship, has used the services of "Smit Salvage" from the Netherlands and "Nippon Salvage" from Japan, and that they will work together with the captain of the ship and the Suez Canal Authority To implement the float plan.

At present, the aground ship obstructs navigation in both directions in the canal, which links Asia and Europe, and is one of the most active trade lanes in the world.

About 30% of the total container traffic in the world passes daily through the 193 km long Suez Canal, and about 12% of the total world trade for all goods.

Dozens of ships are gathered at both ends of the canal, including large container ships, oil and gas tankers and ships to transport grain, which has made one of the worst shipping bottlenecks for years.

Shipping experts say that if the congestion in the navigation traffic in the canal does not resolve within 24 to 48 hours, some shipping companies may have to divert their ships to the Cape of Good Hope around southern Africa, which extends the journey by nearly a week.

Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie said the biggest impact is on container shipping traffic;

But there are also 16 tankers carrying crude oil and petroleum products that were scheduled to pass through the canal, but these were disrupted due to the accident.

According to the "Vortexa" analysis company, Russia and Saudi Arabia are the two largest oil exporters through the canal, while India and China are the largest importers of oil through this route.