First ship passes through Suez Canal after cargo vessel freed

The first cargo ship has successfully passed through the entirety of the Suez Canal since the waterway reopened after a nearly weeklong shutdown due to the grounding of the massive cargo vessel Ever Given.

The New York Times reported that a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship identified as the YM Wish was the first vessel allowed through the canal and exited the southern end around 9:15 p.m. EDT in the U.S. It was headed to the Red Sea and Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian port city.

A ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com counted numerous ships traveling through the canal Monday evening following the YM Wish’s successful voyage. 

The Suez had been closed since last Tuesday after the Ever Given became grounded in the waterway at a perpendicular angle, successfully blocking traffic in both directions. Workers in tugboats, dredgers and excavators labored for nearly a week to free the vessel, which was finally refloated early Monday with the help of a higher-than-usual high tide.

A Navy spokesperson acknowledged on Sunday that the growing backlog of vessels and the canal’s closure was having an unspecified impact on U.S. naval efforts, while an analysis first reported by CNBC last week estimated that $400 million in global trade was being delayed every hour that the Suez was closed.