The massive container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week has been turned 80 percent in the right direction, officials said Monday, raising hopes the vital trade route could soon be clear.

But its owner said that while the giant ship "has turned", it was still not yet afloat.

The MV Ever Given, longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday, strangling world supply chains and costing the global economy billions.