Egypt's Suez Canal was blocked after a giant container ship became wedged across it. This timeline may give you a sense of what happened and what has been done.
CAIRO, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Suez Canal, one of the world's most vital shipping routes, was blocked after one of the world's largest container ships ran aground in the narrow man-made channel early Tuesday, having caused disruptions to global shipments for days.
Here is a timeline of this global attention-catching blockage:
March 25:
-- Navigation in the Suez Canal has been suspended temporarily until the re-floatation work on a ship grounded in a new course is finished, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Thursday.
Suez Canal Authority officials work at the site of a container ship trapped on the Suez Canal of Egypt on March 25, 2021. (Suez Canal Authority/Handout via Xinhua)
March 24:
-- The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement that it was diverting ships to the canal's old channel.
-- As the blockage has threatened the flow of oil through the waterway, oil prices posted a pronounced rebound.
-- Eight tugboats were at work trying to dislodge the vessel.
-- The grounded vessel has been partially refloated and is now alongside the Canal bank, said shipping agent GAC on its website at noon, citing information from the SCA.
March 23:
-- Egypt was hit by a sand storm with heavy winds that reached up to 40 knots.
This satellite image captured on March 23, 2021 shows the giant cargo container trapped on the Suez Canal of Egypt. (Xinhua)
To be updated. ■
