Suez Canal: Live sheep 'stuck' in ship traffic jam

Thousands of animals, most from Romania, have been caught up in the Suez Canal blockage. Authorities are optimistic that a high tide could help to refloat a freighter that has been wedged across the waterway for days.

Suez Canal authorities were optimistic that Sunday's high tide would help refloat the ever given freighter as animal advocates raised concerns for sheep stuck on some 20 livestock ships in the logjam.

Authorities have been working to free gaint the vessel since Tuesday, when it ran aground in the canal and blocked the crucial shipping route in both directions. 

Animals International announced that thousands of animals — mostly sheep on 13 vessels from Romania — were at risk of dying if the channel did not reopen in the "next 24 hours."

"We are sitting in front of a major tragedy," said Gabriel Paul of the nongovernmental group, forecasting that delayed livestock carriers, including vessels from Spain, could run out of water and fodder.

On Friday, Britain's Guardian newspaper cited the ship-tracking website Marine Traffic as identifying three livestock carriers "stuck at various points in the canal."

At both ends or headed for Suez were at least 20 such carriers, the Guardian reported. Animals International urged nations to call their respective livestock ships back.

On Thursday, Spain had given orders that no animal ships bound for Saudi Arabia and Jordan be loaded, the Guardian reported.

Romanian veterinary authorities said they had assurances from transport firms that their livestock ships had enough fodder and water "for the coming days."

Egypt's Agriculture Ministry was quoted by the state-run Al-Ahram website as reporting that veterinary teams had been sent to livestock stuck offshore.