ISMAILIA, Egypt: The Japanese owner of a skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal has apologized for the incident that’s imperling global shipping.
Shoei Kisen, apologized on Thursday over the “tremendous worry” that the accident has caused to the other vessels and their involved parties.
Shoei Kisen said it is cooperating with its technical management company and the local authorities to get theship afloat, but “the operation is extremely difficult.”
It added: “We are extremely sorry for causing tremendous worry to the ships that are traveling or schedule to travel in the Suez Canal, and all the related people.”
Meanwhile, the Suez Canal authority said operations to refloat stranded container are underway but traffic has been suspended temporarily. The authority has also said that 13 ships traveled from Port Said in a convoy but are currently waiting in the lakes until the stranded Ever Given container is freed.
At least 150 vessels are waiting to use the Suez Canal after a skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across the vital waterway. That’s according to canal service provider Leth Agencies.
It says the backup Thursday affected ships both needing to travel into the Mediterranean and the Red Seas.
The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. It remains unclear when the obstruction will be cleared.
