Suez Canal: Satellite Images Reveal Scale Of The Traffic Jam

The backlog of boats caused by Ever Given is clearly visible from space.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

Here’s what the maritime traffic jam caused by the quarter-mile-long MS Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal looks like from space:

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency shared the satellite image on Friday. Taken on Thursday, it shows hundreds of boats backed up in the Gulf of Suez, waiting to pass through the Egyptian waterway. By now, the queue will likely be much longer.

Compare it to the image below, taken Sunday, just two days before the vessel was blown off course and became stuck.

European Space Agency

See the images, which were both captured by the ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, side by side here:

European Space Agency

As some ships stuck in the queue decided to divert around the southern tip of Africa, efforts were ongoing on Saturday to free the ship so it could continue its voyage from China to Rotterdam.

Extra tugboats and dredgers were being recruited in a bid to help shift the ship, officials said, revealing a further possible plan to remove containers from it in a bid to lighten its load.

This satellite image shows the Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal.
This satellite image shows the Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal.
Gokturk-1 Observation Satellite/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Close

What's Hot