Tugs and dredgers try to free megaship blocking Suez Canal for a 4th day

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 51 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Qulity Score:
  • News: 24%
  • Publisher: 66%

CAIRO: Tugboats and dredgers were working Friday (Mar 26) to free a giant container ship blocking Egypt's Suez Canal for a fourth day, forcing ...

Singapore Headlines News

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

An official from Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the Japanese company that owns the ship, told AFP on Friday that crews were working to refloat it."Tug boats and dredgers are being used to crush rocks" in efforts to dislodge the boat, she told AFP, adding that the company did not have information on the exact status of damage to the vessel.

"With the Suez Canal set to remain blocked for at least another day or two, shipping companies are being forced to confront the spectre of taking the far longer route around the Cape of Good Hope to get to Europe or the east coast of North America," said Lloyd's List, a shipping data and news company.

The Singapore-Rotterdam route, for example, is 6,000km and up to two weeks shorter via the canal than going around Africa's Cape of Good Hope.Egypt's Suez Canal Authority has said between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic metres of sand would have to be removed in order to reach a depth of 12-16 metres and refloat the ship.

"I have experience with several rescue operations of this kind and as the former chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, I know every centimetre of the canal," said Mamish, who oversaw the recent expansion of the waterway.Smit Salvage has in the past worked on the wrecks of Russian nuclear submarine Kursk and Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in SG
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

They have to start taking things off the ship by hand to improve the buoyancy.

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.