Suez Canal crisis: 10 pics that show how this wedged cargo ship has put global trade in peril

Global trade suffered a new setback after a giant container ship got stuck at the Egypt's Suez Canal blocking way for other ships to pass. (Reuters)

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. In Pic: A satellite image view of the 400-meter, 224,000-tonne Ever Given container ship blocking the Suez Canal (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)

Authorities say that it may take up to weeks to fix the situation and clear the way. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally amid high winds and a dust storm. In Pic: This photo released by the Suez Canal Authority on Thursday, March 25, 2021, shows a backhoe trying to dig out the keel of the Ever Given. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)

The Ever Given can haul more than 20,100 steel boxes, making it one of the largest container ships. Such vessels can be longer than the Eiffel tower, and bigger than three soccer fields. (Twitter/AirbusSpace)

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ship's 25-member crew are safe and accounted for. (Suez Canal Authority Handout via Reuters)

A total of 156 large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk vessels hauling grain have backed up at either end of the canal, Egypt's Leth Agencies said, creating one of the worst shipping jams seen for years. (AP)

The latest setback comes on top of the disruption to world trade already caused in the past year by Covid-19, with trade volumes hit by high rates of ship cancellations, shortages of containers and slower handling speeds at ports. In Pic: The stranded container ship is seen after it ran aground in this still image taken from a video. (Reuters)

The Japanese owner of the skyscraper-sized cargo ship, Shoei Kisen, has already offered an apology for the incident. Kisen said it is cooperating with its technical management company and the local authorities to get the ship afloat, but "the operation is extremely difficult". (Reuters)

In this satellite image from Planet Labs Inc., the cargo ship MV Ever Given, upper right, sits wedged in the Suez Canal near Suez, Egypt, Thursday, March 25, 2021. At least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt's top foreign currency earners. (Reuters)