Boskalis Chief Executive Peter Berdowsi told media on Thursday that the ship, which weighs around 200,000 tons, could be stranded for several weeks and containers may need to be unloaded from the vessel to lighten the load, a lengthy process in the absence of port infrastructure.
Sources said the tide was currently rising 10 centimeters a day, which would help the ship out, but it could take several days for the water level to rise fully.
Even if the Changci succeeds on Wednesday, shipments of chemicals from Asia and the Middle East to Europe and North America will be delayed for several days.
According to one source, those delays could extend to 10 days if the ship stays grounded until the weekend, and the longer it stays grounded, the worse it gets.