Progress at last
You’ll have seen the ship by now. It’s probably all over your Twitter timelines in the form of a meme; the enormous ship representing a big problem, the tiny digger trying to expand the canal representing the small, insignificant steps taken to mitigate such a big problem. It’s a good meme. If this means nothing I’ll just get to the point.
The massive cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal after losing power has been moved ’17 metres’ according to the guy with the digger at the side of the canal. However Business Insider report it’s only been moved inches. Either way, it’s moving.
“THE SHIP MOVED!!” he tweeted.
“Although just 17 metres but this is good indication. The tugboats are all sounding their foghorns in jubilation,” he added.
THE SHIP MOVED!! Although just 17 metres but this is good indication. The tugboats are all sounding their foghorns in jubilation. 👏👏👏#SuezBLOCKED #suezcanel #Suez #Evergreenship #Evergiven pic.twitter.com/YGuJaQv4mQ
— Guy With The Digger At Suez Canal (@SuezDiggerGuy) March 27, 2021
Work continued throughout the night to get the ship floating down the canal that sees 12 per cent of the world’s trade pass through it every day.
Dredging, Tugging, Digging & Tweeting is going well and will continue through the night. Shout out to all these folks working round the clock to pull this ship out of its misery. #Suez #SuezBLOCKED #SuezCrisis #Evergreenship #Evergiven #Egypt pic.twitter.com/otLDW20t7d
— Guy With The Digger At Suez Canal (@SuezDiggerGuy) March 27, 2021
The ship, called The Ever Given weighs 220,000 tonnes and is roughly the length of the empire state buildings.
20,000 tonnes of sand has been dredged, while 24 tug boats continue to try to drag the boat back into position.
The blockage has caused 300 other cargo chips to be stranded either side of the Ever Given, with many rerouting around Africa.
