Crew of Ever Given, cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal, are all Indian

In this photo released by the Suez Canal Authority, a boat navigates in front of the cargo ship, Ever Given, after it become wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the vital waterway. An Egyptian official has warned that it could take at least two days to clear the ship. (Image: AP)

The entire crew of the skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal, which imperiled global shipping, happens to be Indian.

Shoei Kisen Kaisha, the ship's Japanese owner,  said all the crew aboard Ever Given came from India, the Associated Press reported. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said the ship's 25-member crew are safe and accounted for.

Stuck ship in Egypt's Suez Canal imperils shipping worldwide

The ship had two pilots from Egypt's canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45 am on Tuesday, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said.

On Thursday, at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities said.

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. In the time since, efforts to free the ship using dredgers, digging and the aid of high tides have yet to push the container vessel aside — affecting billions of dollars' worth of cargo.

Explained | How a ship running aground in Egypt’s Suez Canal could hurt India

In a sign of the global turmoil the blockage has caused, the ship's Japanese owner even offered a written apology Thursday for the incident as well.

“We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. “We would like to apologise to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.”