The massive cargo ship Ever Given has been stuck for nearly a week in the Suez Canal, captivating the internet and frustrating the teams responsible for dislodging it and the governments hardest hit by the shutdown of the maritime trade route.
The ship (and its trademark “Evergreen” lettering painted on the side) has become so iconic, in fact, that its become a destination within Microsoft Flight Simulator, at least for one virtual pilot who appears to have created a mod that places the grounded vessel within the virtual Earth of the game, via GeekWire.
Twitter user Mat Velloso shared a video from TikTok, originally captured and uploaded by user “donut_enforcement,” showing off the the flyby of the cargo ship to a convincing-sounding pilot narration as the boat sits stuck between the banks of the canal. The scene looks shockingly realistic, which is a testament to the quality of the mod and also just the demanding visuals of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Of course, there’s nothing stopping developer Asobo from updating the game with newer satellite imagery to include the ship for all players — there’s plenty of such photographs having been taken over the last six days. But considering the game sources its imagery from Bing Maps and doesn’t always refresh in a timely manner, that means your game won’t have the Ever Given in it unless you’re able to mod it like in the video above.
There is currently no concrete timeline for freeing the ship from its unfortunately angled predicament, so it’s certainly possible.
