Currently, barges are unloading the Liberian-registered, Russian-owned vessel’s cargo of 85,000 metric tons of crude. The tanker’s operator, Unicom Management Services of Cyprus, has said the tanker can now be refloated and towed, according to Dow Jones news wires.

Owned by Russia’s Sovcomflot and operated by Unicom, the Tropic Brilliance was transporting Kuwaiti crude to the US for ChevronTexaco when it ran aground at Kilometre 73 of the canal, effectively blocking the waterway. Vessels have been backed up on both sides of the canal until now.