The Suez Canal reopened on Monday evening after crews, with the help of tides, were able to free the Ever Given, a massive container ship that was stuck in the canal for almost a week.
On March 23, amid a sandstorm, the Ever Given crashed into the canal's bank. With the ship stuck, hundreds of other vessels were unable to go through the canal, costing companies billions of dollars a day. Ships go through the Suez Canal because it offers the shortest shipping route between Asia and Europe, and dozens of vessels decided to take the alternate route around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 3,100 miles to their journeys.
The high tide early on Monday helped salvage teams dislodge the Ever Given's bow, and the ship was successfully refloated by the evening. Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said ships are going through the canal again and the 224,000-ton Ever Given is being inspected for damage.
Rabei also announced that an investigation is now underway into how the ship got stuck. "The Suez Canal is not guilty of what happened," he added. "We are the ones who suffered damage."