OREANDA-NEWS. Container ship Ever Given, blocking the Suez Canal, has been taken aground, maritime service provider Inchcape Shipping said. This was done at 4:30 local time (5:30 Moscow time). The success of the operation was aided by the tide and the efforts of more than ten tugs.

According to the head of the administration of the Suez Canal, Osama Rabia, the ship has been returned to the fairway not completely, but by 80 percent.

The press release received by RIA Novosti says: "The stern of the ship is now 102 meters from the coast instead of four meters."

Attempts to fully return the ship to the fairway will resume a little later, from 11:30 (12:30 Moscow time), when the water level rises, added Rabia. He expressed confidence that the operation will be completed successfully.

According to Rabia, after that the container ship will be sent to the area of the Big Bitter Lake for technical inspection. The administration of the canal reported that a full survey of the underwater part of the vessel will be carried out in order to determine if there are any damages, holes in the hull, before a decision is made to continue the passage of the channel or tow it to the nearest port of Suez.

He noted that the technical condition of the vessel seems to be satisfactory, because Ever Given is afloat and its engines are running.

The first footage appeared on the web with the ship Ever Given, which began to move, which for several days blocked the passage through the Suez Canal. The records show how the container ship went aground and continued to move.