Ever Given, the giant container ship remains stuck in the Suez Canal on Sunday after authorities tried and failed to make use of the high tide to free the vessel and reopen the crucial waterway.

Two attempts to free the Ever Given were unsuccessful on Saturday despite hopes the high water level could give the efforts a boost as more than 300 vessels wait to use the canal.

Two additional tugboats are speeding towards the stricken vessel, which has been wedged sideways since Tuesday.

The tugboats will nudge the 400m-long vessel as dredgers continue to vacuum up sand from beneath it and mud caked to its side.

More than 320 ships are waiting to travel through the waterway, either to the Mediterranean or the Red Sea. Dozens of others still listed their destination as the canal, although shippers increasingly appear to be avoiding the passage.

Independent has much more to report on this ongoing development.