An elite team is preparing to tackle the challenge of freeing the huge container vessel that is blocking the Suez Canal, as a backlog of ships built up for a third day in what is arguably the world's most important waterway.
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Work to refloat the Ever Given and free up ocean-going carriers hauling almost $10 billion of oil and consumer goods was expected to begin early on Thursday.
Where is the Ever Given – track live
Tugs and diggers managed to partially refloat the vessel on Wednesday but failed to budge it as dredgers were still trying to loosen the ship before any attempt to pull it, the vessel’s manager said.
Still, the best chance for returning shipping to normal may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a high, according to Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for refloating the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Italy in 2012.
Mr Sloane works as the senior salvage master for Resolve Marine Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
At about 400 metres long and weighing in at 200,000 tonnes, the Ever Given's sheer size is overwhelming efforts to dig it out.
A huge yellow excavator, about twice as tall as its driver, looked like a child's toy parked next to the ship's bow.
The struggle to dislodge the ship is now falling to Smit Salvage, a Dutch company whose employees go from one emergency to the next, often saving vessels during violent storms.
Japan's Nippon Salvage Co has been hired to assist in the refloating, a source said.
This ship is so heavy that the salvage teams may have to lighten it by removing, for example, the ballast water, which helps keep ships steady when they are at sea.
Fuel could also be unloaded.
How to dislodge a 200,000-tonne ship from a canal wall
“Dislodging a grounded ultra-large container ship in the Suez Canal will be challenging due to the confined nature of the canal’s shipping channel,” said Rockford Weitz, director of the Fletcher Maritime Studies Programme at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
“This presents additional complications in comparison to a grounding on a reef or shoal.”
The Suez Canal Authority has not commented on the work or given any indication of when traffic could resume.
About 12 per cent of global trade goes through the canal, making it so important that world powers have fought over the waterway since it was completed in 1869.
For now, all that traffic is backed up with the Ever Given aground in the southern part of the canal, creating another setback for global supply chains already strained by the e-commerce boom linked to the pandemic.
“Every hour, more vessels – including container ships, oil tankers, RoRo [roll-on, roll-off] vessels, and bulk carriers – are being backed up in the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south,” said Jett McCandless, chief executive of supply-chain tracking company Project44.
“It’s another big blow to global trade in an already backlogged and battered supply-chain year.”
An estimate suggests the blockage is costing about $400 million an hour, based on calculations from Lloyd’s List that suggest westbound traffic is worth about $5.1 billion a day and eastbound traffic approximately $4.5bn.
On Wednesday, 185 vessels were waiting to navigate the canal, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg, while Lloyd’s estimates there are 165.
About 34 container vessels chartered by Maersk and other shipping lines are either stuck in the canal or en route, according to Project44.
Preliminary reports show 10 crude tankers carrying a total of 13 million barrels could be affected by the disruption, according to Vortexa senior freight analyst Arthur Richier.
The incident began on Tuesday when strong winds blasted through the region and kicked up sands along the banks of the 193km canal.
The waterway is narrow – less than 205 metres in some places – and can be difficult to navigate when visibility is poor.
But Ever Given stayed its course through the canal, on its way to Rotterdam from China.
As gusts that reached as high as 74 kilometres an hour swept up dust around it, the crew lost control of the ship and it careened sideways into a sandy embankment, blocking nearly the entire channel.
It is still in the same position as when it ran aground, according to Inchcape Shipping Services.
At the heart of all of this is the ship’s size.
Container vessels have nearly doubled in size in the past decade as global trade expanded, making the job of moving such ships much harder when they get stuck.
Even while key routes – including the Suez Canal – have been widened and deepened over the years to accommodate the mega-vessels, the work to free ships after they become stuck takes enormous power.
The canal is among the busiest waterways in the world, used by tankers shipping crude oil from the Middle East to Europe and North America, as well as in the opposite direction.
The bottleneck highlights a major risk faced by the shipping industry as more ships travel maritime chokepoints including the Suez, Panama Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and Malacca Strait.
Such occurrences could become more common as ships get bigger and waterways get more congested.
Oil companies prepare for the worst as Suez Canal remains blocked
Oil companies are starting to prepare for the worst.
On Wednesday, there was a sharp rise in interest from oil companies looking to book tankers with options to avoid the canal, according to a broker, and several bid for space on the pipelines that allow the waterway to be bypassed completely.
For now, that is a precautionary move.
Container ships will most likely have to wait it out, as the main alternative is the unattractive option of sailing around the southern tip of Africa.
However, at least one shipment of liquefied natural gas from the US has potentially diverted course towards the Cape of Good Hope and away from Suez, Wood Mackenzie analyst Lucas Schmitt said in a note on Thursday.
The disruption comes at a time when oil prices are volatile. Crude surged above $70 a barrel this month on Saudi production cuts, only to slump to near $60 this week after setbacks in Europe’s coronavirus vaccine programme.
Brent crude rose more than 5 per cent on Wednesday.
Ever Given's crew are safe and accounted for, and there have been no reports of injuries or pollution, according to the ship's manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.
Among others, the vessel is carrying cargo for logistics company Orient Overseas Container Line, according to Mark Wong, a company spokesman.
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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%3Cp%3EEtihad%20Airways%20operates%20seasonal%20flights%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20Nice%20C%C3%B4te%20d'Azur%20Airport.%20Services%20depart%20the%20UAE%20on%20Wednesdays%20and%20Sundays%20with%20outbound%20flights%20stopping%20briefly%20in%20Rome%2C%20return%20flights%20are%20non-stop.%20Fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C315%2C%20flights%20operate%20until%20September%2018%2C%202022.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Radisson%20Blu%20Hotel%20Nice%20offers%20a%20western%20location%20right%20on%20Promenade%20des%20Anglais%20with%20rooms%20overlooking%20the%20Bay%20of%20Angels.%20Stays%20are%20priced%20from%20%E2%82%AC101%20(%24114)%2C%20including%20taxes.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERemedy%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Microsoft%20Game%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%3A%20360%20%26amp%3B%20One%20%26amp%3B%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20Nintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHenry%20Cavill%2C%20Freya%20Allan%2C%20Anya%20Chalotra%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
WITHIN%20SAND
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
About%20My%20Father
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The years Ramadan fell in May
