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The Ever Given has finally been freed from the Suez Canal

MH

by Mike Hitch

Image: Forbes.com

Image: Forbes.com

MH

by Mike Hitch

Port workers have finally managed to re-float the Ever Given after the container ship spent six days stuck in the Suez Canal.

The stranded container ship blocking the crucial Suez Canal trade route in Egypt was successfully refloated at 4:30 am (1:30 pm AEDT) on Monday, following nearly a week global crisis that blocked one of the world’s most vital maritime passages.

While officials initially confirmed on Monday that the ship had been turned 80 per cent in the right direction, recent reports from the canal authority confirmed that the Ever Given has been fully floated, and traffic in the waterway has resumed.

Suez Canal Image beach
Photo: Inquirer.net

“She’s free,” an official involved in the salvage operation confirmed.

For those who don’t know (and potentially living under a rock), the 400m long, sky-scraper-sized ship had been blocking one of the busiest trade routes in the world, halting 12 billion dollars in maritime commerce a day.

Aided by the high tide, several tugboats were able to wrench the round bow of the Ever Given from the canal’s sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since Tuesday, March 23.

After successfully removing the vessel from the sandbank, the salvage team pulled the Ever Given towards the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal.

Evergreen Marine Corp, a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, confirmed that it will now be inspected.

“We pulled it off!” said Peter Berdowski, the CEO of Boskalis, the salvage firm hired to extract the Ever Given, in a statement.
“I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given … thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again.”
Suez Canal Image 3
Image: Suez Canal Authority
Having just drawn a massive dick-pic in the ocean, the Ever Given was initially battered by a sandstorm, before crashing into a bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal, about 6km north from the southern entrance, near Suez.
The result was a massive traffic jam that strained supply chains already under pressure by the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 369 vessels carrying various items, including cattle and crude oil, were piled up on either end of the canal, waiting to pass.

Data firm, Refinitiv, estimated it could take up to 10 days to clear the backlog of ships, while other ships took on the less-than-desirable alternative of detouring through the Cape of Good Hope – which could add up to 24,140km distance.
But, despite this fantastic news, we’re undoubtedly going to miss the horrible memes that have cropped up amid 2021’s most iconic crisis.

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