All ships stranded by the grounding of the giant container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal have now passed through the canal, ending the backlog that built up during the blockage.
The last 61 ships out of 422 ships that were queuing when the vessel was dislodged on Monday passed through the vital trade artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.
International supply chains were thrown into disarray when the 400m-long Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free her after extensive dredging and repeated tugging operations.
An SCA investigation began on Wednesday into what caused the vessel to run aground in the canal and block the waterway for six days, the canal authority's chairman, Osama Rabie, told the MBC Masr private TV late on Friday:
"The investigation is going well and will take two more days, then we will announce the results."
- with AAP, Reuters