Suez Canal Says Lag Ends Days After Container Ship Release

CAIRO, Apr 3 (Reuters) – All ships that were blocked by the grounding of the giant container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March had already passed through the canal on Saturday, ending the backlog accumulated during the jam, the agency said.

The last 61 ships, of the 422 that were queued when the vessel was unblocked on Monday, passed through the vital commercial artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.

International supply chains were disrupted when the 400-meter-long Ever Given grounded in the canal on March 23, and it took nearly a week for specialized rescue teams to free it after extensive dredging and repeated towing operations.

In all, 85 ships were due to pass through the canal on Saturday, including 24 ships that arrived after the Ever Given was evicted, the SCA said.

The president of the Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, told MBC Masr private television at the last minute that an investigation had been launched into the causes of the ship running aground in the canal and blocking the waterway for six days.

“The investigation is going well and will last two more days, then we will announce the results,” he added.