The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) reported Thursday it had suspended traffic along the 120-mile long canal while eight tugboats worked to free a massive containership, according to Reuters.

SCA’s statement said thirteen vessels had sailed south along the canal on Wednesday and were waiting in the canal’s lakes until the containership was refloated. On either side of the canal’s entrances, dozens of ships are piling up as the world’s most crucial shipping lane grinds to a halt.

Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which has been tasked to dislodge Ever Given, was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying:

“We can’t exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation. It’s an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats, and dredging of sand.”