Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship unable to turn around

The 400-metre long and 59 metre-wide cargo ship, the Ever Given, became stuck in the Suez Canal on Tuesday

The Suez Canal in Egypt was blocked on Tuesday after a massive container ship ran aground, according to local media reports.

Traffic through the busy waterway was reportedly blocked in both directions by the 400-metre long and 59 metre-wide cargo ship.

The blockage caused a pileup of at least 100 vessels seeking to transit between the Red Sea and Mediterranean, according to ship brokers and mapping data compiled by Bloomberg.

The vessel, named Ever Given, is registered in Panama and was reportedly en route to Rotterdam from the Yantian in China when it got into difficulty.

According to online reports, the vessel had travelled through Taipei and Malaysia, and was scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam at the end of the month. It arrived in the Suez Canal on Monday night and remained stuck early on Wednesday.

“There was a grounding incident” in the Suez Canal, said Alok Roy, fleet director of BSM Hong Kong, the Ever Given ship manager. There have been no reported injuries or pollution, he said.

The ship’s operator, Taiwan-based Evergreen Group, wasn’t immediately able to respond to a request for comment.

Ship tracking data showed the Ever Given still in the same position as of about 2 am Wednesday in Cairo.

In 2019, the container set the record for the largest vessel to travel through the Panama Canal, according to The Maritime Executive.

According to the website, the transit exceeded the waterway’s established maximum vessel lengthy of 366 metres.

The Suez Canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world, utilized by oil tankers shipping crude from the Middle East to Europe and North America.