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Suez Canal Backup Could Clear in About 4 Days

VOA News

   Officials said Tuesday the backlog of ships trying to pass through the
   Suez Canal could take about four days to work through, followingnearly
   aweek in which the vital waterway was blocked by a massive container
   ship.

   The assessment came from both the Suez Canal Authority and the U.N.
   Conference on Trade Development.

   Suez Canal AuthoritychairmanOsama Rabiesaid about 140 ships were
   expected to pass through the canal on Tuesday.
   In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given, a
   Panama-flagged cargo ship is accompanied by Suez Canal tugboats as it
   moves in the Suez Canal, Egypt, March 29, 2021.

   The 400-meter-longship,Ever Given,was freed Monday after days of work
   involving digging along the canal bank and a group of tugboats pulling
   on the ship.Itwasjammed diagonally across a southern section of the
   canal in high winds on March 23, halting shipping traffic on the
   shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.'¯

   Once moving again, the ship moved into theGreat Bitter Laketo undergo
   inspections for any damage and for investigators to try todeterminewhy
   it ran aground.

   Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sissisaid Tuesday that while the
   incident was an unwanted event, it was dealt with effectively and
   reaffirmed the importance of the Suez Canal.

   The canalbrings in between'¯$5 billion'¯and'¯$6 billion'¯in revenue
   each year.

   Some maritime firms'¯responded to the delays by'¯deciding'¯to divert
   ships'¯around'¯the Cape of Good Hope, at the'¯southern'¯tip of'¯the
   African continent.

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