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| - Japanese ship-leasing firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha said Thursday it owned the giant container vessel stuck in the Suez Canal and was facing "extreme difficulty" trying to refloat it. "In co-operation with local authorities and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, a vessel management company, we are trying to refloat (the ship), but we are facing extreme difficulty," Shoei Kisen Kaisha said in a statement on its website. "We sincerely apologise for causing a great deal of worry to ships in the Suez Canal and those planning to go through the canal," it said. No crew injuries or oil leaks had been detected on the MV Ever Given, the firm added. The Taiwan-run, Panama-flagged ship, a 400-metre (1,300-foot) long vessel, veered off course and ran aground in a sandstorm on Tuesday. Egyptian tug boats are working to free the giant container vessel but the blockage threatens to disrupt one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes for days. Toshiaki Fujiwara, an official at Shoei Kisen Kaisha, told AFP "we still don't know how long it will take" to refloat the ship. "We have not heard of any particular progress. Now they are trying to dig out dirt under the bow of the vessel. They will resume tug operations when the tide rises," he added. He said the ship had an insurance policy, but that the firm was unaware of the details or any costs involved at this stage. "It's just the beginning," Fujiwara said. si-kaf/axn
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