‍The 20,000 TEU containership that blocked the Suez Canal, arrived at the Port of Felixstowe today after a gruelling five months.

The Ever Given, operated by Taiwanese firm Evergreen Marine, was originally due to arrive in the UK in early April. However, the vessel caused absolute carnage to global trade when it ran aground and became wedged between the busiest waterway for ocean freight.

The Port of Felixstowe said 2,000 containers were being unloaded by crane and the process would take about 24 hours. Many keen shipping enthusiasts and ship-spotters flocked to the waterfront to watch the highly anticipated moment that the Ever Given arrived.

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In March, when the vessel became stuck, hundreds of ships were delayed as they waited for the canal to be unblocked. With no knowledge on when the trade lane would be cleared, some vessels made the decision to reroute around the southern tip of Africa, adding a whole month onto their journey. From the Suez Canal to Amsterdam at 12 knots, it takes just over 13 days via the canal versus 41 days via the Cape of Good Hope.

When the ship was finally freed, it was then put under arrest until an agreement between Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, and The Suez Canal Authorities, SCA, over compensation was reached.

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Goods in the Ever Given's 18,000 total containers have an estimated value of $775m, but as many of them will hold fruit and vegetables, much of it will have to be destroyed, since passing their use-by date.

The bulk of the containers were offloaded at Rotterdam before docking at Felixstowe and will continue its journey to Hamburg, Germany.