Stuck tanker blocking Suez Canal budges for first time

The Ever Given tanker blocking the Suez Canal budged for the first time on Friday night after 20,000 tons of dirt were dug out of the site, Report informs, citing The Jerusalem Post.

The latest attempt to dislodge the tanker started earlier on Friday after dredging operations to remove 20,000 cubic meters of sand at the tanker's bow.

If these efforts fail, the US Navy is willing to send help should Cairo seek it, Reuters reported.

The container ship Ever Given, 400 meters long, 59 meters wide, and with a carrying capacity of about 224,000 tons, belongs to Japan's Shoei Kisen and is operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corporation. On Wednesday, it ran aground on the 151st kilometer of the Suez Canal on its way from China to Rotterdam amid low visibility due to a sandstorm and hurricane wind.

The ship had been blocking the vital shipping route since Tuesday. Bloomberg estimates that downtime for the Suez Canal is $ 9.6 billion per day.