The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez; and dividing Africa and Asia. The canal offers watercraft a more direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean and Red seas, thus avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London, for example, by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi). It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) including its northern and southern access-channels. In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 47 per day).
At 07:40 Eastern European Time on 23 March 2021, the Ever Given, a Golden-class container ship, one of the largest in the world, was passing through the Suez Canal on its way to Rotterdam from Tanjung Pelepas when it ran aground, turned sideways and blocked the canal, causing the canal to be impassable, and significantly disrupting international shipping.
As of 24 March 2021, eight tugboats are working to re-float the vessel in collaboration with diggers removing sand from the side of the canal where the vessel is wedged.
When will the Suez Canal blockage of March 2021 be cleared?
This question resolves as the time and date the Suez Canal becomes navigable by commercial shipping vessels, as reported by a major news organization (e.g. AP, Reuters, BBC, CNN, etc.).
ETA (26 March): Ships with a beam of at least 20 meters must be able to pass the canal for this question to resolve positively.