Suez Canal Authority says tugging operations to resume as soon as dredging is complete

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Friday that tugging operations to free the stranded container ship will resume after completing dredging operations to remove up to 20,000 cubic meters of sand.

The authority said dredgers had gotten within 15 meters of the bow of the ship and that they could only safely get as close as 10 meters.

The authority estimated that dredging operations were about 87% complete.