Uri Geller, a legendary spoon-bender from Israel, is urging the world to use mind power to dislodge the 200,000-tonne Ever Given vessel that is causing a traffic nightmare in the Suez Canal after it lost the ability to steer on Tuesday amid strong winds.
Geller, a self-proclaimed psychic, says he can “bend” the ship and set it free – albeit with the help of people across the planet, who are urged to visualise the vessel’s movement at exactly 11.11 am and 11.11 pm on Saturday, he told the Daily Star.
“We can do this with mind power energy. It is possible to move the ship. Let’s go for this,” the 74-year-old illusionist told readers via a video message.
He didn’t specify the time zone for the mind-blowing experiment to take place, but the set hours have already passed in Israel where Geller now resides – and the Ever Given hasn't budged from its spot despite a widespread campaign to get it out with the help of cranes.
But there is still a chance, later this evening.
“Billions of dollars are lost every day from other ships trying to cross, we are going to believe in ourselves, we will try this,” the televised magician said. “I believe in your powers. We are going to try to move it with our minds.”
The Suez Canal blockage is believed to be causing $400 million per hour in losses for global trade as it prevents dozens of other ships from entering the route with their precious cargo; instead they must take a 15-day detour around Africa. But the ship’s Japanese owner company Shoei Kisen KK believes the vessel can be refloated as early as Saturday – despite some pessimistic outlooks from analysts. Geller’s “powers” probably won’t hurt with the operation.