The cargo ship ‘Ever Given’ which has blocked Suez Canal for almost a week now has been freed from the channel’s shoreline and seen its course corrected by 80 per cent, Egyptian authorities said.

 The news has brought cheers amid expectations that traffic in the canal would soon resume, causing a fall in crude prices. The prices had gone up after the canal was blocked on Tuesday.

 Head of the Suez Canal Authority, SCA, and the Dutch company Smit Salvage used tug boats to move the two lakh tonne ship from the cannel bank, following dredging and excavation work over the weekend. Further tugging efforts to move the ship is resumed today after 11.30 am Egyptian time, (3pm in India) when the next high tide was expected to cause the water level to rise. The operation is highly dedicated, with teams working to ensure that the ship does not get unbalanced or breaks apart.

 Meanwhile, the maritime solutions provider in charge of technical management of the vessel said that all 25 India crew on board are safe and in a good health.

 Abhijeet Sangle, working president of the All India Seafarers and General Workers Union, said they had received information from BSM that the 25 Indians on board are from different states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and some from North India.

 Director General of Shipping Amitabh Kumar said since the crew on board the ship are safe, the intervention of the Directorate General of Shipping has not been sought. He informed that the impact of the incident will mostly be on trade.

 The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Director General of Shipping have advised Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mundra and Hazira ports to prepare a strategy to berth multiple vessels simultaneously once traffic resumes at the Suez Canal.

 Coastal shipping operators have been asked to keep feeder vessels ready to carry containers around the Indian coast if needed.