Esther Odediran
Ever-Given (container vessel) has obstructed Suez Canal. This huge Container blockage has caused a backlog of ships in this Egypt’s Canal. Several tug boats are trying to move the Suez Canal so other boats can go through. The obstruction happened about 5:40am GMT on Tuesday according to Bernhard Schulte (Ship management).
Ever-Given is a Taiwanese transport company named ‘Evergreen Marine’, it is a 224,000 tonne and 400 metre long vessel. It is said that the vessel must have been blown by high winds and a dust storm.
The ship owner said the ship:
was suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate from the waterway and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground
Ever-Given is a three-year-old and it is one of the largest ship in the world. This ship is registered in Panama. It was on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China before it became stuck in Suez Canal.
This canal is a very busy shipping lane that connects the Mediterranean to the Red sea and it is the quickest maritime link between Asia and Europe.
Julianne Cona, who is in Maersk Denver (an American-registered Vessel) wrote on her Instagram handle;
Ship in front of us ran aground while going through the canal and is now stuck sideways looks – like we might be here for a little bit.
The Suez Canal obstructed by the huge container was built by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869 then opened officially in 1869.
Moreso, this canal is one of the busiest waterways having about 12% of the world’s trade volume passing through it. An average of 51 ships passing through it daily. A net tonnage of 1.17 billion tonnes passed through the canal during 2020 according to the Suez Canal Authority.
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