The container ship “Ever Given” is stuck on a sandy bottom. It may need to be emptied of cargo to get loose.
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The ship got stuck on Tuesday morning. So far no one was able to send in the perfect solution, which is not strange. Salvage groups from the Netherlands and Japan have now been brought in to reconsider the plans to get it loose, he writes The Guardian Thursday afternoon.
The Taiwanese company Evergreen, which leases the ship, says that the two salvage groups will work with the captain and the Egyptian Suez Canal authorities (SCA) to make the ship float again – so that the traffic on what is described as one of the world’s most important trade routes , can be resumed.
The 171 kilometers long Suez Canals connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and simplifies shipping between Europe and Asia.
See more photos of the work to get the ship loose in the photo gallery below:
DELAYED: Several ships have anchored on each side of the canal in anticipation of “Ever Given” getting loose.
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At least 150 ships delayed
SCA stated on Thursday that they have put the traffic through the canal on pause, at the same time as eight tugboats and at least two mud barges are working to free the ship. Pictures also show that excavators on land have been deployed to help.
According to the company that operates the channel, Leth Agencies, at least 150 ships were delayed as a result of the incident. They write in one press release that work will be done to free the ship all Thursday.
Several Norwegian ships are also delayed as a result of the blockade. According to the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association 16 ships with Norwegian ownership interests remain, either at one end of the cinnamon or in the middle of it.
– As soon as we get this ship loose, things will return to normal. God willing, we are done today, says chairman of the board of SCA, Osama Rabie.
INSPECTOR: Osama Rabei, chairman of the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Foto: SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY/HO / SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY/HANDOUT
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But not everyone is equally optimistic.
Peter Berdowski, CEO of the special dredging company Boskalis, which works on site, believes it is not possible to pull the ship loose from the sand.
He believes that the ship may have to be unloaded in order for them to succeed in getting it free.
– We can not ignore that it can take several weeks, depending on the situation, he says to the Dutch TV channel U.S.
According to Berdowski, both the bow and the stern, ie the front and rear part of the ship, have got stuck on opposite sides of the canal.
– It’s like a stranded whale. It has an enormous weight on the sand. We may have to work with a combination of reducing weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tugs and dredging sand, he says.
—-BARRIERS: The cargo ship “Ever Given” stands across the Suez Canal. Foto: EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY / X80001
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Costs several billion an hour
About 12 percent of world trade passes through the Suez Canal. With each passing day, the ripple effect on ship traffic becomes greater.
Calculations from Lloyd’s List estimates the blockade will cost up to $ 400 million, equivalent to 3.4 billion kroner, every single hour the canal is closed.
“Ever Given” is about 400 meters long and just under 60 meters wide. The Suez Canal, on the other hand, is 190 km long, 24 meters deep and around 205 meters wide.
The Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen owns the ship, which is registered in Panama. It was on its way from the Chinese port of Ningbo to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, according to the website Vesselfinder, which monitors ship traffic.
The shipping company says that the ship lost control due to strong winds in the area, after it entered the canal from the Red Sea. An anonymous Egyptian official has also blamed the wind, according to the news agency AP.
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