Experts have boarded a colossal container ship that had been stuck sideways for nearly a week in the Suez Canal before it was dislodged.

Questions are swirling about the incident that had shaken the global shipping industry and clogged one of the world's most vital waterways.

A canal pilot says engineers are inspecting the Ever Given for damage and trying to determine the cause of its grounding.

The ship was safely anchored in the Great Bitter Lake on Tuesday, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south ends of the canal after salvage teams succeeded in finally freeing the skyscraper-length vessel the previous day.