Excavator brought in to help free ship stuck on Suez Canal sparks meme-fest online

A container ship got stuck on Egypt’s Suez Canal, one of the most important shipping trade routes in the world, blocking the movement of more than 100 ships. Images of a “teeny tiny” excavator brought in to help free the blockade have gone viral, leaving netizens in splits.

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula, Associated Press reported. “Images showed the ship’s bow was touching the eastern wall, while its stern looked lodged against the western wall — an extraordinary event that experts said they had never heard of happening before in the canal’s 150-year history,” according to the report.

As tugboats tried to free the ship on sea, Suez Canal authorities brought in an excavator to clear sand and silt around the massive ship. However, its “teeny tiny” size in comparison to the massive container ship has triggered memes online, with many people equating themselves to the ‘little digger’ and their life problems to that of the cargo ship.

2 guys and a bulldozer on site to dislodge a ship stuck in the Suez Canal. pic.twitter.com/APAIU7sCv6

— John Arnold (@JohnArnoldFndtn) March 24, 2021

While authorities have said that the herculean task can take upto a few days to clear the path, netizens are busy making finding some solace through jokes, with many saying it reminded them about the ‘pivot’ scene from FRIENDS.

Check out some of the memes doing round the internet here:

BREAKING: The boat blocking the Suez Canal has fallen down the stairs at the Met Gala pic.twitter.com/mPBtVgfdXL

— Hieronymus Goat (@cursegoat) March 25, 2021

me changing the font on my to do list pic.twitter.com/3ro3hdpUkM

— Marty Lawrence (@TeaAndCopy) March 25, 2021

Nobody:

Desi uncles parking in locality: pic.twitter.com/iA7KpKv1cB

— Rishav Mishra 🙇 (@theNormieGuy) March 26, 2021

Meanwhile, across the globe…#SuezCanel is not opening up any time soon… pic.twitter.com/R246MnwUVE

— cheryl #ChangePolitics #endlockdowns 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@cheryl1492) March 24, 2021

pic.twitter.com/II3lRSeF34

— jeremy poxon #80aDay (@JeremyPoxon) March 25, 2021

🙃 pic.twitter.com/oQ5kVOSftc

— Deeba Shadnia (@deebashadnia) March 24, 2021

pic.twitter.com/tclmIH2fbf

— Anton Hilado (@anton_hilado) March 24, 2021

I could not resist #Evergreen pic.twitter.com/iHTPa3tmV4

— Ketan Joshi (@KetanJ0) March 24, 2021

Still figuring out how to get it out of here… 🙄#suezcanel pic.twitter.com/jfP8EzLggj

— فسيفساء (@zulmatkhana) March 25, 2021

The world right now. pic.twitter.com/KRGcXQRUeJ

— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) March 25, 2021

The excavator at Suez today, reminds me of my life…#evergiven #suez #mylife pic.twitter.com/H92hbX4fGV

— DeepCool (@Deepcoolglobal) March 24, 2021

pic.twitter.com/yO7Gi2nfR1

— 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔰 🧲 (@PerthshireMags) March 24, 2021

A true story! 😃#Evergreen #Suez pic.twitter.com/ag28zZUxYK

— Moataz Attallah معتز عطا الله (@MoatazAttallah) March 24, 2021

Me trying to turn my life around #SUEZ pic.twitter.com/dlnQqHNdtg

— Formerly Known as ALT-immigration 🛂 (@ALT_uscis) March 24, 2021

Whenever I feel too small to make a difference I will think of the excavator. #Suez pic.twitter.com/Z8o6ONTIdB

— Marian Faa (@marianfaa) March 24, 2021

Thanks, first meme I’ve ever made pic.twitter.com/p5il6xV8Ld

— Lane (@laneb1971) March 24, 2021

Today’s Comic: We are all, in our own little way, that ship. pic.twitter.com/GVDjLxzErX

— Chaz Hutton (@chazhutton) March 24, 2021

What is happing in #SuezCanal today explained.#Egypt
pic.twitter.com/T06bFDGQ7q

— Zaina Erhaim (@ZainaErhaim) March 24, 2021

That escalated quickly…#Suez #canal #Evergreen pic.twitter.com/T5pWfSCIcS

— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) March 24, 2021

Same energy#suezcanel #Suez #shippingcontainer pic.twitter.com/ycZEFSdw6Z

— Charlie Fenwick 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏳️‍🌈 (She/her) (@TheTartanTart) March 24, 2021

Tension rises over new attempt to re-float ship in #SuezCanal #EVERGIVEN #oott pic.twitter.com/EOHZS3qQmM

— ForexFlow (@forexflowlive) March 24, 2021

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said that cargo ships stuck behind the Ever Given in the canal will be sent back to Port Suez to decongest the channel.