Ever Given docks in Felixstowe after blocking Suez Canal
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Ever Given, the ship that sparked global attention after blocking the Suez Canal earlier this year, has finally docked in the UK.
The huge container vessel caused mass disruption to world trade in April when it became stuck for six days in the major shipping lane in Egypt.
The arrival at the Port of Felixstowe on Tuesday comes four months later than planned.
Its mooring has attracted onlookers interested in witnessing the ship pull in.
Pictures showed dozens of people gathered along the port’s banks, some with deck chairs and binoculars.
According to the port’s log, Ever Given officially docked at 4.30pm. Its next destination is Hamburg, Germany.
The 400m-long ship, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, was heading for Rotterdam when it got wedged into the sandy bank of a narrow stretch of the canal on March 23.
It took almost a week to unblock it from the waterway, meanwhile causing one of the biggest traffic jams in shipping history.
The chaos and backlog meant the journeys of hundreds of ships were delayed and some were forced to take the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
It was then held by the Egyptian authorities, in charge of the canal, for more than three months amid a financial dispute over compensation.
In July, the ship was freed after an agreement was struck between its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, and the canal authorities.
Felixstowe port, located on the Suffolk coast, is Britain’s biggest and busiest container port – welcoming more than 3,000 ships each year.
