Following the recent grounding incident of the large container ship “Ever Given” in Suez Canal, the vessel’s company confirmed that crew, ship and cargo are all safe, while no marine pollution has materialized. However, experts say it could take weeks to dislodge a massive cargo ship that’s been blocking the Suez Canal since Tuesday.
To remind, the Panama-flagged Ever Given got grounded and stuck near the Red Sea entrance, blocking traffic in the Suez canal, on March 24.
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In fact, the vessel, which is owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen, had left from from Yantian, China, heading to Rotterdam, when the incident took place.
In light of the situation, Smit Salvage and Japan’s Nippon Salvage had been appointed to work alongside its captain and the Suez Canal Authority in order to refloat the ship.
The shipowner has appointed two maritime professional rescue teams from the Netherlands (Smit Salvage) and Japan (Nippon Salvage) to attend the ship. These teams will be working with the Captain and the Suez Canal Authority to design a more effective plan for refloating the vessel as soon as possible.
…the company said in a press update.
The IMO has been closely monitoring the incident involving the MV Ever Given and the IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim asked for patience from stakeholders across the supply chain as everyone works to ensure that the ship, its crew, its cargo and the environment remain protected.
“I offer my encouragement to the Egyptian Authorities, as well as the salvors, tug and dredger operators and all other parties, who are working tirelessly to safely re-float the ship and resume transit through one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes as soon as possible. I appreciate the efforts of every individual involved. I look forward to receiving information from the investigation into the incident so that IMO can act on any appropriate recommendations derived from the findings.”
…IMO Sec-Gen stated.
As of 26th March, Evergreen Line reported that after 48 hours of proactive efforts to re-float Ever Given, the time chartered vessel’s grounding situation has not been resolved yet. Fears mounting that it could take weeks to free Ever Given container ship, which would squeeze global supplies of crude and refined products, Al Jazeera reports. The giant Ever Given vessel remains grounded in the same position, with tugboats and dredgers still working to free it, according to Canal service provider Leth Agencies.
In addition, crew, ship and cargo are all safe, and no marine pollution has materialized. There had been no black out resulting in loss of power prior to the ship’s grounding.
Evergreen Line will continue to coordinate with the shipowner and Suez Canal Authority to deal with the situation with the utmost urgency, ensuring the resumption of the voyage as soon as possible and to mitigate the effects of the incident.
As the vessel is chartered, the responsibility for the expense incurred in the recovery operation; third party liability and the cost of repair (if any) is the owners.
At the moment, more than 150 ships are waiting to pass through the 120 mile canal, according to estimates from research firm StoneX.
Furthermore, the global trade, as well as shipping, is starting to experience the results of the blockage of this major ship route. Commenting on the impact the incident had on global shipping, Wood Mackenzie says that the largest impact is on container shipping.
MarineTraffic provides visual updates of the traffic in the area, noting that another containership, the HMM Rotterdam appeared to be diverting to avoid congestion at Suez. The 23,000-TEU vessel was about to pass Gibraltar Strait before turning around to travel around Africa on its journey towards Singapore AIS ETA changed from 30 Mar to 21 Apr.
