Ever Green Container Ship Refinates Successfully On Suez Canal

The giant container ship Ever Given on the Suez Canal. (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - Almost a week aground, the giant container ship Ever Given managed to float back on Monday, March 29 in the morning.

"Ever Given Container Ship was successfully re-floated at 4.30 am local time (02.30 GMT) and was secured, said Inchcape, a global marine service provider on Twitter.

Videos posted on social media showed the ship's stern turning, opening up space in the canal. Other footage, which Reuters could not immediately verify, included cheers and the horn of a ship being sounded in celebration.

VesselFinder ship tracking service has changed the status of this 400 meter (430 yards) vessel which is ongoing on its website.

The giant container ship Ever Given ran aground diagonally south of the Suez Canal due to strong winds on Tuesday morning, stopping shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Ever Given's technical management, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Egypt's Leth Institute tweeted that the ship had been partially re-floated, awaiting official confirmation from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

Previously, according to Bloomberg, the Ever Given rescue mission was decisive, as the rescue team tried to move it as a bank of the Suez Canal.

"Monday between 4 am and 5 am local time will be a tense moment," said Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, the parent company of Smit Salvage.

"A lot will depend on the land beneath the ship. But I will give a 50 percent chance we will succeed," he continued.

The SCA earlier said in a statement that towing operations to free the ship had resumed. The Suez Canal rescue team intensified the digging and dredging on Sunday and hope the tide will help them release it.

The MV Ever Given was successfully re-floated at 04:30 lt 29/03/2021. She is being secured at the moment. More information about next steps will follow once they are known. #suezcanel #maritime pic.twitter.com/f3iuYYiRRi

— Inchcape Shipping (@Inchcape_SS) March 29, 2021