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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

According to real-time updates, the container ship "Ever Given" has now been freed and it under way:

You can follow its progress at VesselFinder.com [vesselfinder.com]. (The web site seems to be struggling under the load.) At the moment of this writing, it is heading on a Course of 349.2° (nearly due north) at a speed of 2.3 knots.

It is headed to Great Bitter Lake [wikipedia.org]. Once there and out of the path of other shipping, it will undergo technical inspections.

According to various reports, the Suez Canal carries anywhere from 10-15% of the world's shipping. The effort to dislodge the ship is led by Smit Salvage who is renowned in the ship salvage industry. They successfully took on the task of raising the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk [wikipedia.org]. It sank August 14, 2000 while carrying two nuclear reactors as well as a full complement of torpedoes and missiles.

What I wonder is how the backlog of hundreds of ships will be prioritized for passage. Take a look at it from space [scitechdaily.com]. The canal's capacity is on the order of 55 ships per day. Will they take each ship first-come first-served? What about perishable and time-sensitive cargo? Take advantage of supply and demand to set up a bidding war? With the whose world watching and second guessing every decision what should they do?

Previously:
Grounded 'Mega Ship' Blocking Suez Canal in Both Directions -- How Would You Get It Free? [soylentnews.org]

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