The Ever Given container ship stuck in the Suez Canal was finally pulled free, allowing the crucial trade route to reopen to traffic, reports Bloomberg.
The vessel is now fully afloat, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement. The ship was moving north from where it was grounded, accordiong to ship-tracking data and television footage.
Efforts will now get under way to restart shipping navigation, with more than 450 vessels waiting near the canal. The backlog has strained global supply chains already stretched by the pandemic as the route is a conduit for about 12% of global trade.
Once the vessel is fully refloated and navigation on the canal resumes, ships will pass through at a rate of 100 a day to clear the backlog, an analyst said.