A.P. Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd consider rerouting ships around Cape Of Good Hope. 
237 vessels waiting to transit Suez Canal; the number is up from 185 on Wednesday.
Another effort on Thursday to refloat containership stuck in canal. 
Dredging around front hull underway. 

British government "stands ready" to assist Suez Canal efforts to refloat containership. 
Each day the canal is blocked, it halts about $9.6 billion of traffic through the world's most important shipping lane

Firm working to dislodge the vessel said vessel could be "stuck for weeks." Update (1210 ET): As many as 237 vessels are waiting to transit the Suez Canal; the number is up from 185 on Wednesday and 100 on Tuesday. With multiple attempts to refloat the ship (all unsuccessful), the number of vessels waiting to transit the canal will likely increase. This is the moment when part of the global supply chain seizes up. 

Update (1147 ET): The technical manager of the mega containership stranded in the Suez Canal said, "another effort to re-float the vessel will be undertaken later in the day after an earlier attempt was unsuccessful," according to Al Arabiya English. 

The shutdown of the world's most important shipping lane appears to be causing all sorts of havoc across the global supply chain. As we noted moments ago, global shippers are rerouting ships from the Suez to around the Cape of Good Hope.