A Microsoft Flight Simulator mod recreates the suddenly-iconic image of the cargo ship, the Ever Given, stuck in the Suez Canal. A viral TikTok video shows a pilot engaging in a flyby of the stuck ship, and you can recreate the bird's-eye view yourself with the mod.
Mat Velloso, technical advisor to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, shared the video on Twitter. It features a player narrating as a plane captain, giving a tour of the Suez Canal as a major pipeline for global trade, and then noticing the ship. He then tells the passengers to fasten their seatbelts so they can turn for a better look.
The Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week, disrupting trade through the highly trafficked sea route. It was a serious problem and a source of frustration for the governments trying to free the ship, but it is also objectively hilarious that big boat got stuck. So there's been no shortage of memes and videos about the incident, and this Flight Simulator mod is just the latest riff.
Cargo ship stuck in Microsoft Flight Simulator pic.twitter.com/SczumWI5mD
— Mat Velloso (@matvelloso) March 28, 2021
You can download the Ever Given mod by FlyBoyRez1 to view the scene yourself. You'll just have to plan a flight path that overlooks the Suez (coordinates: 30.017650, 32.580220) and you can't miss it. It's the giant boat.
In the real world, though, the Ever Given has just been freed and traffic through the Suez Canal has resumed, reports the New York Times.