The blockage of Egypt’s Suez canal by a giant container ship is causing a “traffic jam” in the Red Sea, according to a merchant seaman on a nearby ship.

Joe Reynolds, chief engineer of the Maersk Ohio, told the BBC the number of vessels waiting at the canal’s southern entrance was “growing exponentially”.

Tugboats and dredgers are trying to dislodge the Ever Given, which is wedged diagonally across the waterway.

The 400m-long, 200,000-tonne vessel ran aground on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a sandstorm that affected visibility.