Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority chief said on Saturday that officials could not lay out a set timetable for when Panamanian container ship, The Ever Given, will be dislodged.
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei said that the ship broke the canal’s bank and can only be moved using excavators.
The ship has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday, blocking one of the world’s most vital waterways in both directions.
In a press conference on Saturday in Suez, Rabei said strong winds “were not the main reason” for the grounding of the ship, but that technical or human errors could have led to the incident.
A dredging operation could free the ship without having to resort to removing its cargo, he added.
Outlining Egyptian efforts with tugboats and excavators to free the bow and propellers of the ship, he said that more than 300 vessels are now waiting at either end of the canal. Rabei said that the dredging process is important in removing the trapped vessel.
He added that two operations are being conducted to end the crisis.
He said it was possible that the ship could be moved “today or tomorrow, depending on its responsiveness to the tides.”—Agencies
