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In pictures: Container ship blocking the Suez Canal finally on the move

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Workers next to the Ever Given. 24 March 2021Image source, EPA
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The huge container ship is four football fields long

After almost a week blocking the Suez Canal, a 400m-long (1,300ft) container ship is finally on the move again.

The Ever Given, operated by Evergreen Marine Corp, became stuck last Tuesday during a sandstorm.

For days it was lodged diagonally on one of the world's key shipping lanes, causing traffic to build up and other ships to be rerouted.

But now, after an operation involving tug boats and dredging, the vessel is fully refloated and heading north.

Image source, EPA
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The Ever Given became stuck a week ago, wedging itself diagonally across the canal

Image source, EPA
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Officials from the Suez Canal Authority visited the stranded ship last week to work out a rescue plan

Image source, EPA
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Tug boats were deployed to shift the 200,000-tonne vessel

Image source, EPA
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Dredgers cleared approximately 30,000 cubic metres of sand from around the ship's hull

Image source, EPA
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Nearly 400 other vessels became stuck in a queue behind the ship

Image source, AFP
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On Monday, after days of effort, the ship was at last dislodged

Image source, Reuters
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The Ever Given continued its passage north

Image source, Getty Images
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Last year the Suez Canal was used by an average of 51.5 ships per day

Image source, Getty Images
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The Suez Canal, pictured here in 2017, is 193km (120 miles) long and incorporates three natural lakes

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