CAIRO, March 25. /TASS/. Vessel traffic in the Suez Canal has been completely stopped in both directions due to an operation to refloat a container ship stuck across the canal, George Safwat, Suez Canal Authority spokesman announced on Thursday.
"Traffic in the channel has been temporarily completely suspended," he said in a statement.
On Wednesday, 13 ships sailed from north to south along the old passage of the canal. From south to north, traffic has been stopped since Tuesday, when Ever Given container vessel with displacement of 220,000 tonnes and length of 400 meters blocked navigation in the canal under the impact of strong wind. By now, the "congestion" of ships has stretched almost to India.
A source in the administration of the canal told TASS that specialists from the Dutch company Boskalis, which provides services in the construction and maintenance of marine infrastructure, were involved in the operation to refloat the vessel.