Ships
A skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping on Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said.
The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula.
In the time since, efforts to free the ship using dredgers, digging and the aid of high tides have yet to push the container vessel aside.
Egyptian officials and others resumed work to free the vessel on Thursday morning after halting for the night.
So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship.
Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum.
From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal's sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it.
Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.
01:00
Benin grants temporary authorization for export of Nigerien oil
01:35
Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway marks six years of operation
Go to video
Cruise ship worker accused of stabbing 3 people with scissors on board vessel bound for Alaska
Go to video
Nigerians struggle with fuel shortages as queues form across major cities
01:05
Niger signs deal to supply Mali with cheaper diesel
Go to video
South Africa: boat captain missing , search begins