The operation to free the giant container ship stuck in the Suez Canal is continuing, with warnings it could take days or even weeks.

The Ever Given, operated by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine, is the length of four football pitches and is lying across the southern end of the canal preventing other ships from getting through one of the world's busiest waterways.

CURRENT POSITION of Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal

Ever Given satellite image

The Ever Given container ship remains stuck in a single-lane, older section of the Suez canal. Photograph: BLACKSKY/Reuters
The Ever Given container ship remains stuck in a single-lane, older section of the Suez canal.
Photograph: BLACKSKY/Reuters

How could the Ever Given be moved?

An unnamed Egyptian canal authority official told late on Thursday that they would need to remove between 15,000 to 20,000 cubic meters (530,000 to 706,000 cubic feet) of sand to reach a depth of 12 to 16 meters (39 to 52 feet). That depth is likely to allow the ship to float freely again, it said.

steps to remove the grounded Ever Given

Up to nine tugs have been deployed to free the ship, according to the company which manages the running of the vessel, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).

The ship is 400 meters (1,300ft) long, wedged diagonally across a canal not much more than 200 meters (656ft) wide.

Using cables or placing themselves directly alongside the stricken ship, the tug boats have been attempting to move it off sand banks on both sides of the canal.

Tugs and support vessels around the Ever Given

Tugs to support the Ever Given ship

As it's firmly grounded on both banks, all efforts so far have proved extremely difficult to shift it, says Sal Mercogliano, an expert in maritime history at Campbell University in the US.

Dredging

“The focus now is on dredging to remove sand and mud from around the port side of the vessel’s bow. In addition to the dredgers already on site a specialised suction dredger is now with the vessel and will shortly begin work. This dredger can shift 2,000 cubic metres of material every hour,” said the shipmanagement company.

Ships anchored outside the Suez canal in Ismailia. Photograph: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA
Ships anchored outside the Suez canal in Ismailia. Photograph: Khaled Elfiqi/EPA

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