--- title: "Remember That Stuck Container Ship? It’s Finally Leaving the Suez Canal" description: "The Ever Given, a 1,310-feet-long vessel loaded with around 18,300 containers, finally resumed its journey to leave the Canal on Wednesday." date: "2021-07-07" modified: "2021-07-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stuck-container-ship-leaving-suez-canal" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "cargo ships" - "shipping containers" - "the digest" --- # Remember That Stuck Container Ship? It’s Finally Leaving the Suez Canal ![The Ever Given, a 1,310-feet-long vessel loaded with around 18,300 containers, finally resumed its journey to leave the Canal on Wednesday.]() *\Image: Maxar Technologies\* ## Sail Again Remember that giant container ship that [got stuck]() in the Suez Canal in Egypt? Well, it's finally on the move. The Ever Given, a 1,310-foot vessel loaded with around 18,300 containers, finally resumed its journey and left the Canal on Wednesday, as *Reuters* reports — perhaps the perfect analogy for the return of (almost) normal life following the coronavirus pandemic. ## Free At Last In case you're counting, the big boat spent 106 days in the canal after [becoming hopelessly stuck]() for nearly a week back in March. The canal accounts for about 15 percent of global trade, meaning that the embarrassing situation ended up tearing through billions of dollars in global trade. The ship was promptly seized by Egyptian authorities from The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in mid-April, who claimed that the owner, Japanese holding company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, [owed them $900 million](). The demand was eventually lowered to $550 million. Now, the holding company has signed a compensation settlement, giving the Ever Given green light to finally leave the Suez Canal, according to *Reuters*. The vessel has joined a northbound convoy and will have to undergo yet another dive inspection of its hull at the next port. ## Lessons Learned The world of shipping will never be quite the same. "There are many lessons to be learned from the in-depth inquiry still underway, but we are pleased to see the Ever Given sailing again," Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, told *Reuters*. The SCA is now planning to widen the section where the Ever Given got stuck. Thousands employed in the area can finally breathe a sigh of relief. "May God let it arrive safely," Tarek Alzeki, captain of a tug boat carrying reporters, said, as quoted by *Reuters*. "It is a beautiful thing... we are happy, of course." **READ MORE:** [Ever Given container ship begins exit from Suez Canal 106 days after getting stuck]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on the ship:** *[Watch the Amazing Moment as the Giant Ship Finally Gets Unstuck]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()