Five days after a massive container vessel was freed from the Suez Canal, ship traffic there has returned to normal, the canal authority says.

More than 100 ships of similar size to the Ever Given ply the world's waterways, creating logistical challenges and concerns about mishaps — including "spectacular losses of cargo," one analyst says.

The Ever Given had been wedged at an angle across the Suez Canal since Tuesday, preventing other shipping vessels from traveling through the waterway.

Efforts to free the Ever Given — as more than 320 ships wait to pass through the blocked canal — have made incremental progress over the weekend, with another refloating attempt set for Sunday.