There is already discussion going on in other thread:
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26617430" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26617430</a><p>(Also link to a twitter which has link to a article doesn't deserve the front page...)
I never saw then try to use the prop wash of the tugs to wash away the sand instead of the slow digging with excavators. The canal is deep enough in the center, really the fastest way to move a lot of sand over small area is by washing it away. Especially is the area is hard to reach with big equipment. As soon as the ships propellors were freed it just have been trivial to free the stern by just goin full steam ahead. On the bow side, I wonder if they tried using the bow thruster to do the same (actually does a container vessel even have a bow thruster?)