Suez Canal suspends traffic as ship stuck like ‘beached whale’

The Ever Given ship, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking canal transit in both directions.

A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a “beached whale” sent new shockwaves through global trade on Thursday as officials stopped all ships entering the channel and the salvage company said it may take weeks to free. The 400m (430-yard) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for oil, agricultural products, and manufactured goods trade linking Asia and Europe. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally across the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.