Suez Canal blocked intact as efforts to refloat giant ship fail on March 27

The Giant Ship remains stuck

The mega container ship Ever Given that ran aground on either side of Egypt's Suez Canal remains stuck and attempts failed to refloat it on the high tide of March 27.

Canal officials, however, said that some progress had been made and that they hoped the ship could be afloat again by the evening on March 28.

The Ever Given has been wedged in the canal - one of the world's busiest trade routes - since March 23. More than 300 ships are stuck on both sides of the blockage. Some vessels have had to reroute around Africa.

On March 27 about 20,000 tonnes of sand was dredged, and 14 tugboats pulled and pushed the Ever Given in order to try to dislodge it, the BBC reported.

Although strong tides and winds complicated efforts to free the ship, the tugboats managed to move it 30 degrees in two directions. Footage posted on Twitter appeared to show the tugboats honking their horns to celebrate this small victory.

General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said that water had started running underneath the vessel.

"We expect that at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot it is in," he told a press conference.

He added that he hoped it wouldn't be necessary to remove any of the 18,300 containers on board to lighten the ship's load.