Live footage on Egyptian television showed the ship surrounded by tug boats moving slowly in the centre of the canal.

"She's free," an official involved in the salvage operation said.

The 400-metre long ship had been blocking one of the world's busiest trade routes, forcing companies to reroute ships and causing long tailbacks of hundreds of vessels.

Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bulbous bow of the Ever Given from the canal's sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since last Tuesday.

After hauling the fully laden vessel over the canal bank, the salvage team pulled the vessel towards the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal.

It is where the ship will undergo technical inspection, canal authorities said.

"Admiral Osama Rabie, the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), announces the resumption of maritime traffic in the Suez Canal after the Authority successfully rescues and floats the giant Panamanian container ship EVER GIVEN," a statement from the SCA said.

Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com confirmed that the ship was moving away from the shoreline toward the centre of the artery.

The obstruction has created a massive traffic jam in the vital passage, holding up $12 billion each day in global trade and straining supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.

At least 369 vessels, carrying everything from crude oil to cattle, have piled up on either end of the canal, waiting to pass.

Data firm Refinitiv estimated it could take up to 10 days to clear the backlog of ships.

The freeing of the vessel came after dredgers vacuumed up sand and mud from the vessel's bow and 10 tugboats pushed and pulled the vessel for five days, managing to partially refloat it at dawn.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had not publicly commented on the blockage, said Egypt had ended the crisis and assured resumption of trade through the canal.

About 15% of world shipping traffic transits the Suez Canal, which is an important source of foreign currency revenue for Egypt. 

Source | ABC/wires