Egypt's first female captain at centre of disgusting Suez allegation

Photo taken in the Suez Canal in northeastern Egypt on March 29, 2021, shows the Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, refloated after it had blocked the channel for nearly a week, enabling the resumption of traffic in the crucial global waterway.

The last 61 ships, out of 422 that were queuing when the MV Ever Given was dislodged on Monday, passed through the vital trade artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.

At least 18,840 ships passed through the canal previous year. Here, the Huahine is seen crossing the canal on March 30 in Ismailia, Egypt.

The Panama-flagged vessel, owned by Japanese ship-leasing company Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. and operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp., became wedged on March 23, causing disruption in global traffic, before it was finally freed six days later.

The Ever Given moved to a nearby lake for an SCA investigation into what caused the ship to run aground in the canal.

More than 99 per cent of New Zealand's import/export volumes are shipped by sea; these tonnages account for 80 per cent of national trade value.

The blockage put further pressure on supply chains already stretched by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marwa Elselehdar, 29, was at sea as the first mate in command of the Aida IV in Alexandria when the massive Ever Given container ship became accidentally stuck in the waterway, the BBC reported.

The Ever Given and its cargo are now in the Great Bitter Lake, roughly halfway along the canal.

While it's not the first time the canal has been blocked, the week-long incident has come at a huge cost.

Egypt's first female ship captain Marwa Elselehdar was at the centre of a fake news campaign that blamed her for bringing one of the world's most strategic shipping routes, the Suez Canal, to a halt, a BBC report said.

Egypt is expecting more than $1.4 billion in compensation, according to the top canal official.

He also warned the ship and its cargo will not be allowed to leave Egypt if the issue of damages goes to court.

Salvage teams on Monday set free a colossal container ship that has halted global trade through the Suez Canal, bringing an end to a crisis that for almost a week had clogged one of the world's most vital maritime arteries.

There were around 75 crude-oil and chemical tankers, it said.