New satellite images show close up of Ever Given wedged in place

Newly released satellite images are showing the full scope of the predicament the container ship Ever Given has set before the world stage.

The 1,312-foot-long ship was shown with its bow wedged into the western bank at a diagonal across the roughly 656-foot-wide Suez Canal, choking off a crucial maritime trade route in new satellite images released Friday by Maxar Images. The Ever Given, which is operated by the Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp., towered over several tug boats that lined its port side, and dredging operations continue to try and help remove sand from around the ship's lodged bow.

Dredgers had halted efforts to remove the sand from around the bow and tugboats were preparing another attempt at towing the massive ship, Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said in a statement Friday night, local time. Previous attempts with tugboats have been unsuccessful, and an earlier attempt Friday to free the boat failed, according to The Associated Press.

"It's a complex technical operation" that will require several attempts to free the vessel, Rabei said in a statement about their efforts.

About 12% of world trade operates through the canal, though concerns are growing over the impact the maritime traffic jam could have on the cost of goods.

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Workers are racing against the clock in an endeavor that is costing the world economy an estimated $400 million in delayed goods for every hour the waterway remains blocked, according to shipping data and news company Lloyd's List. The London-based shipping-news journal estimated that the value of cargo goods passing through the canal every day to be roughly around $9.7 billion -- westbound traffic valuing $5.1 billion daily and eastbound traffic valuing $4.5 billion daily.

The vessel has been stuck since Tuesday, March 23, on its way from China to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands when it reportedly ran aground amid a severe dust storm that caused high winds and poor visibility in the canal. Capt. Nick Sloane, a maritime salvage expert, told the AP that the job could take up to a week.

The job of dislodging the ship had fallen to SMIT Salvage BV, one of the largest salvage companies in the world that provides marine emergency response, wreck removal operations and environmental care services.

With high tide expected to come around Sunday or Monday, AccuWeather Meteorologist John Gresiak said dry and mostly clear weather could be expected in the area over the next several days as efforts to free the Ever Given continue.

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