Suez Canal Declared Emergency With The Return Of ‘MV Ever Given’
On Sunday, Egyptian authorities announced a state of emergency as Ever Given, the gigantic container vessel that blocked the Suez Canal in March for almost a week, returned to the Suez Canal. This time, it had a full load. The Ever Given was sailing from China toward Rotterdam.
The Panama-registered 400-meter vessel arrived in Suez after midnight on Saturday. It was moored there until it received a signal to pass the canal.
This time the cargo on Ever Given was much heavier than it how it was when it got stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking traffic, impacting shipping operators all over the world, per Marwa Maher, a media representative working with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
Declaring emergency was meant to make sure the vessel gets smooth passage. Ever Given was thoroughly loaded with cargo since March, per reports shared by Al Ahram, a daily, on Saturday. The ship navigated the canal in August. However, though at the time it did not carry any cargo.
On Sunday, the giant ship entered the canal from the latter’s southern entrance, sailing in the same direction as it did in March when it ran aground. It reportedly went through a month of heavy repairs in November in China before heading for Europe. Sunday’s journey marked the vessel’s 23rd trip via the canal.
Mapping the data shared by Vessel Tracker, an online tool that tracks the world’s maritime traffic, the Ever Given was almost fully loaded, with its draft slightly below 16 meters, which is the maximum capacity. A ship’s draft covers the same distance as recorded between the deepest point of the vessel’s body and the waterline.
When Ever Given was refloated once again in March 2021, it encountered a detainment at the Great Bitter Lake. This was because a legal dispute between the SCA and the owners of the ship over the compensation for the blockage was pending.
The vessel left Egyptian waters following a ceremony conducted on 7 July in Ismailia, where the SCA officials and the legal team of the ship owners finally signed the compensation contract.
Latest Shipping News
