Timeline: The Suez blockage crisis

TIMELINE

THE SUEZ BLOCKAGE CRISIS

On March 29th the Ever Given was finally set free from the banks of the Suez Canal, allowing for the long tailback of ships to once again begin navigating through one of the world’s most important trade routes.

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Cargo ship gets stuck in Suez Canal

At 7:40 am (05:40 GMT) the 'Ever Given', a 200,000-tonne, 400-meter-long (1,312-foot) ship, ran aground in the southernly mouth of the Suez Canal, blocking other vessels on one of the most important maritime trade routes.

Dozens of ships await, causing a traffic jam

Despite efforts made to release the ship, the Suez Canal remained blocked, at least 100 vessels attempting to transit between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean piled up behind it.

Egypt suspended all traffic in Suez Cana

Egypt suspends all traffic through the Suez Canal as they continue to face “extreme difficulty” in trying to refloat the ship. Container carriers and vessels start taking the costly long voyage around Africa instead.

White House raises alarm as Maritime traffic jam grows

Realising the potential impacts on energy markets the US government offers Egypt assistance in removing the grounded ship. Bloomberg reports almost 300 vessels queued up.

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Authorities plan to use tidal movement to free ship

As all earnest attempts to release the ship fail, a plan is made to refloat the vessel by taking advantage of tidal movements. Nevertheless, the ship remained stuck in the waterway while around 320 vessels lay waiting.

Additional tugboats deployed, excavators dig into the canal's eastern wall

Satellite photos show excavators digging the eastern wall of the Suez Canal, hoping to free the bow of the Ever Given that ploughed into the embankment. Workers plan on two more attempts to free the vessel coinciding with high tides.

After moving over 30,000 cubic meters of sand the Ever Given finally sets adrift

After salvage teams with tugs pull the ship free, at 3 pm local time, the manager of the Ever Given container ship confirms it has been refloated. To help clear the backlog, the number of vessels moving through is expected to increase.