Tugs resume effort to clear Suez Canal container ship blockage as traffic jam builds

Efforts to dislodge a 400-meter (1,312-foot) container vessel that has choked traffic along the Suez Canal resumed at high tide on Thursday, with five tugs working to drag the vessel to deeper water, according to ship-tracking data.

The Ever Given vessel -- which is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall -- ran aground diagonally across the single-lane stretch of the southern canal on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement. It is now blocking transit in both directions through one of the world's busiest shipping channels.