Suez Canal traffic resumes

Vessel traffic has restarted in the Suez Canal, after the containership Ever Given was successfully dislodged from the bank where it had run aground on 23 March, and escorted to the Great Bitter Lake.

Vesseltracker shows that the first of the convoy of ships that had been waiting in the Great Bitter Lake, midway through the canal, to transit southbound, are underway towards the southern channel in which the Ever Given was stuck.

Shipping agent Leth Agencies said that this will be followed by 30 vessels transiting through the canal southbound from the Port Said anchorage, with further movements still to be announced. Vessel tracking service Fleetmon shows a number of vessels entering the north end of the canal from the Port Said anchorage.

The six day blockage has left a significant backlog of ships waiting to transit the canal. Leth Agencies said that 367 ships were waiting to transit the canal early today. A source at another shipping agent, Clarkson Shipping Agency, estimated that this backlog will take five-seven days to clear.

The list of ships waiting to transit the canal, or approaching from the north or south side, includes 36 dirty tankers and 26 clean tankers, according to Argus data (see table).

By Will Collins