Suez Canal: Enormous ‘Beached Whale’ Ship Could Remain Stuck for Weeks

A part of the Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given (Evergreen), a 400-metre- (1,300-foot-) long and 59-metre wide vessel, lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway of Egypt's Suez Canal on March 24, 2021. Suez Canal Authority/Handout/AFP via Getty Images

The skyscraper-sized cargo ship blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal like a “beached whale” may remain stuck for weeks as salvage teams work to free the vessel.

Officials blocked ships from entering the waterway after the MV Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground on Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula, amid a dust storm and high winds.