Suez Canal shipping lines to fully reopen Saturday

by Sarah Polus - 04/03/21 9:19 AM ET

A shipping backlog in the Suez Canal should be fully cleared Saturday, days after the Ever Given container vessel was finally released after becoming stuck in the waterway, Reuters reports.

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told the outlet the final 61 ships that were stuck behind the large vessel will pass through the canal by the end of the day. Before being dislodged, the Ever Given caused a 422-ship queue.

Officials on Wednesday launched an investigation into what caused the large ship to become stuck, blocking the major trade route for six days.

“The investigation is going well‮ ‬and will take two more days, then we will announce the results,” Rabie told Reuters.

The Ever Given was finally freed on March 29 after causing delays for nearly $9.6 billion worth of goods, although some experts expect that the debacle won’t affect shipping in the long run.

The event will be “at best a blip,” said Gary Clyde Hufbauer, nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

He continued, “This is not a major event the way it was resolved. If it had lasted another three weeks, that would have been a much more severe event.”

Tags Suez Canal