WATCH | Giant Cargo Ship 'Ever Given' Stuck For 6 Days Freed By Egyptian Crew, Refloats Into Suez Canal

The container ship blocking the Suez Canal for the past six days was freed on Monday by the Egyptian crew and is currently being secured.

Cargo Ship 'Evergreen' was stuck in Suez Canal for 6 days

The giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal has been at least partially refloated, the first step toward getting one of the world’s most important trade arteries moving again. The Ever Given was successfully refloated at about 4:30 a.m. local time in Egypt and the vessel is currently being secured, according to the maritime services provider Inchcape Shipping Service

The Suez Canal Authority had earlier said in a statement that tugging operations to free the ship had resumed. The ship was partially freed and tugboats were deployed to straighten its course.

While the ship is floating again, it wasn't immediately clear how soon the waterway would be open to traffic, or how long it will take to clear the logjam of more than 450 ships stuck, waiting and en route to the Suez that have identified it as their next destination.

The Suez Canal is one of the world's busiest trade routes, and the Ever Given - part of the Evergreen fleet - has been wedged in it since Tuesday.

More than 300 ships are stuck on either side of the blockage and some vessels have had to reroute around Africa.

Why is the Suez Canal so important?

About 12% of global trade passes through the 193km (120-mile) canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

An alternative route, around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa, can take two weeks longer.

According to data from Lloyd's List, the blockage is holding up an estimated $9.6bn (£7bn) of goods each day - or $400m an hour.

In Syria, authorities began to ration fuel after supplies were held up by the stalled traffic in the Suez Canal.