CAIRO: The continuous efforts to dislodge the 1,300-feet-long container ship Ever Given, blocking the Suez Canal, entered the sixth day on Sunday.
The authorities were aiming to free the ship on Saturday night, said the Ship's Japanese owner yesterday, Kyodo news reported.
Giving an update on the situation, head of the Suez canal authority, Osama Rabie, said the ship's rudder and propeller had moved, calling it a "positive sign", but it remains unclear when the Ever Given, which stuck on Tuesday during a sandstorm, will be refloated. Rabie further said that an investigation would be carried out, to determine the cause of the incident.
The incident involving the 400-meter long Ever Given operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp has caused a bottleneck in the vital trade artery connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, with more than 300 ships waiting to enter or complete their journey through the canal.
Cargo will be removed to make the ship lighter if any attempts of using dredging and tugboats at high tide proved difficult.
The ship was bound for Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China when it became stuck in the canal.