The cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week has been partially freed, the Suez Canal Authority announced on Monday.
The agency said the Ever Given, the container ship stretching about a quarter of a mile long, was 80 percent refloated as of Monday. Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sissi hailed the operation’s progress, even declaring the crisis over.
“Egyptians have succeeded today in ending the crisis of the stranded ship in the Suez Canal,” al-Sissi said in a statement.
However, Peter Berdowski, CEO of the Dutch salvage firm hired to free the ship, said the operation was still underway.
“Don't cheer too soon,” Berdowski told Dutch radio in comments translated by the Associated Press. “The good news is that the stern is free, but we saw that as the simplest part of the job.”
Roughly 13 percent of global shipping flows through the canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Shipping companies have been rerouting their vessels around the southern tip of Africa.
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