Following EVERGREEN statement on March 29, that Ever Given was successfully refloated within the Suez Canal at approximately 15:00 local time, the vessel will now head to the Great Bitter Lake in Egypt for a full inspection and experts will seek to investigate what caused the grounding.
With this announcement, Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping applauded team’s efforts, highlighting how important is that traffic will begin to return to normal in the Suez Canal in the coming week.
This incident has brought to centre stage the importance of global shipping to daily life, and the delicate nature of the global supply chain it underpins.
…Mr Platten said.
Suez canal connects Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea. The blockage delayed hundreds of tankers and vessels in reaching their destination, and as a result more maritime traffic was heading to the crucial waterway.
In particular, 113 ships were expected to transit the canal in both directions by early Tuesday morning. A backlog of 422 ships could be cleared in 3 -1/2 days, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chairman Osama Rabie told media. However, other experts estimate that it could take at least another 10 days to clear the backlog on either end of the Suez Canal.
International media also reports that the Ever Given’s owner, Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha said that it would participate in the investigation along with other parties, though it did not identify them and made no further comments with regards to possible causes of the grounding.
According to Al Jazeera news, the company added that any damage to the ship was believed to be mostly on the bottom. Shoei Kisen said it was not immediately known whether the vessel would be repaired on-site in Egypt or elsewhere, or whether it would eventually head to its initial destination of Rotterdam and commented that these decisions are made by its operator, rather than the shipowner.
MarineTraffic data showed that the ship is heading north through the waterway by a team of tugboats. ”Great to See transits in the Suez Canal resumed. Southbound are first up, livestock carriers too” commented Mr Peter Sand, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, on a recent tweet.
Track the progress of fleet that diverted to avoid Suez congestion caused by the #EverGiven https://t.co/XRxySrxPTg
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 30, 2021
An estimated 12% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal, comprising of more than one billion tonnes of goods each year. This includes the majority of trade between Asia and Europe. ”I am relieved that goods like food, fuel, vital medical equipment and PPE will begin to move freely once again.” Mr Platten added.
ICS and the whole industry now expects the results of a full investigation into the incident to be made public once complete, to ensure any vital lessons are learnt.
There is also another, more pervasive issue threatening global trade right now, shipping’s ongoing crew change crisis. 200,000 seafarers are being impacted by restrictive travel policies which stop them boarding or disembarking ships.
…also said ICS Sec-Gen, highlighting that seafarers must not be forgotten as soon as this incident is over.
Up to 25 Indians remain on the MV Ever Given. The crew has been aiding the efforts to free it, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) informed in a media statement.
The following video, by the Suez Canal Authority, shows the successful attempts to refloat the Panamanian grounding container ship EVER GIVEN
The outstanding project management and orchestration of the SCA has been instrumental to solving this situation in a quick and safe fashion. We would like to thank our crew, the SCA, and all other parties involved in this spectacular salvage operation in the Suez.
…commented Mr Kasper Nilaus, Svitzer CEO.
Svitzer highlighted the collaborative efforts of a number of key partners, coordinated by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), to refloat the Ever Given. As informed, now that the vessel has been freed, Port Said 2 is escorting Ever Given back to the Bitter Lakes. Meanwhile, Port Said 1 is towing one of the dredgers that freed Ever Given to the south of the Canal, said Svitzer.
I’m extremely proud of the outstanding job done by the team on site as well as the many SMIT Salvage and Boskalis colleagues back home to complete this challenging operation under the watchful eye of the world. The time pressure to complete this operation was evident and unprecedented.
…commented Mr. Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis, subsidiary of SMIT Salvage.
