After six days of being stuck in the Suez Canal, the Ever Given cargo ship has finally been freed and allowed room for traffic to ease traffic.

Peter Berdowski, CEO of the Dutch salvage firm Boskalis, said in a statement: “I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given on 29 March at 15:05 hrs local time, thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again.”

The Suez Canal is an artery of world trade. It connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, providing an avenue for vessels to cross between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. 

Based on the approximate value of goods that are moved through the canal every day, the mega-container vessel was holding up an estimated $400 million an hour in trade, according to Lloyd’s List, a shipping data and news company.

Over the past six days, the maritime traffic caused by the vessel has increased and left many other ships unable to arrive at their destinations.

Suez Canal Authorities used excavators to release the tip of the vessel from the sandbank it is stuck in. Throughout Sunday and into Monday, tugboats worked in coordination with dredgers to return the 220,000-ton vessel to the water.

It was just before dawn when the ship slowly began to regain buoyancy.