The Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, was expected to open for traffic soon, following the freeing of the 400m-long container ship, Ever Given, yesterday afternoon.
The vessel had blocked the canal for almost a week, after wind caused it to swing and become wedged across the waterway.
The Ever Given was finally freed yesterday after a mammoth salvage operation involving tugs, a dredger and earth-moving equipment.
By early yesterday, more than 360 vessels were queuing to use the canal. It was estimated that $9.6bn-worth of goods was being held up each day.
[Image: Pierre Markuse, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=102400564]