Container ship stuck in Suez Canal refloated

CAIRO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The massive container ship Ever Given has been successfully refloated after being stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week, Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Monday.

"The vessel is en route to the port of Rotterdam," and expected to arrive there on March 31, the ship tracking website VesselFinder showed with a map tracking the Panama-flagged ship Ever Given.

The 224,000-ton container has been stuck and blocking the vital waterway since Tuesday last week, after it lost the ability to steer amid massive winds and a sandstorm.

The incident caused temporary suspension of navigation in the man-made canal, keeping at least 321 ships in wait.

Dutch firm Boskalis with its emergency response team Smit Salvage was hired by Ever Given's owner to assist the SCA in the rescue operations.

Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 km.

Some 12 percent of the world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal.