(NAFB) – Egypt’s Suez Canal remains blocked by a skyscraper-sized cargo ship, backing up hundreds of other vessels along the crucial waterway.

The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that has been described as being nearly as long as the Empire State Building, wedged across the Suez Canal on Tuesday and remained stuck as of Thursday. Reports say the giant ship may take weeks to free. Commodity broker Greg McBride says the container ship is blocking transit in both directions along the man-made canal linking Asia and Europe

McBride notes that as the Suez Canal remains blocked, efforts continue to refloat and dislodge the ship. The Suez Canal Authority said eight tugs were working to move the diagonally stuck vessel.

McBride says it’s important to remember that as the price of crude oil goes, so does the price of other crude-sensitive commodities such as corn, soybean oil and cotton.