Tanker released by Suez might be damaged, warns Egypt official

Cargo ship Ever Given might have suffered some damage after being wedged for a week at the Suez Canal’s shoreline, an Egyptian official warned yesterday.

The former chairman of the state-run Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Mohab Mamish, told Youm7 that the tanker might undergo “some repair and maintenance operations on its front tail, which had been stuck into the canal’s edge.”

“The procedure of flushing the 370 ships stalled in the canal will start today and will last for three to four days as the canal operations return to normal,” Mamish added.

The Egyptian president’s adviser pointed out that the container ship was being “fully examined for seaworthiness,” adding that the authority was also “investigating the reasons behind the vessel being jammed for a week.”

READ: Iran proposes alternative shipping line to Suez Canal

Media reported early yesterday that the vessel was successfully refloated, with help from the Dutch firm Smit Salvage.

Experts say that some 10 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic transits through the Suez Canal –  one of Egypt’s major foreign currency resources. Officials said that the canal’s closure led to losses of $9.6 billion in trade each day.