Maritime traffic jam grows with more than 200 ships out of the Suez Canal

A SEA TRAFFIC jam has grown to more than 200 vessels out of the Suez Canal and some vessels began to change course as dredgers work to free a giant container ship that is stuck sideways in the waterway and disrupting global shipping. .

A salvage expert said releasing the EverGiven could take up to a week at best and warned of potential structural problems as it remains embedded.

The Suez Canal Authority welcomed international offers to help free the ship, including one from the United States, although it did not say what assistance was offered.

The EverGiven, owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, was trapped on Tuesday in a single-lane stretch of the canal, about four miles north of the south entrance, near the city of Suez.

A team from Boskalis, a Dutch salvage company, is working with the canal authority, using tugs and a specialized suction dredger that is trying to remove sand and mud from around the port side of the bow.

Egyptian authorities have banned media access to the site.

Today, an attempt to free it failed, said Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, EverGiven’s technical manager. Plans are in the works to pump water from the interior spaces of the vessel and two more tugs should arrive on Sunday, the company said.

In addition to more than 200 vessels waiting near the canal, more than 100 more vessels were heading for the waterway, according to data firm Refinitiv.

Apparently anticipating long delays, the owners of the stuck ship diverted a sister ship, the EverGreet, to head for Africa, according to satellite data. Others are also diverting to avoid the canal.

About 10% of world trade flows through the canal, which is particularly crucial for the transportation of oil. The shutdown could also affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Middle East.

Capt. Nick Sloane, a marine salvage expert who led the high-profile effort to save the cruise ship Costa Concordia in 2012, said removing the EverGiven is “quite a challenge” and could take anywhere from five days to a week.

The EverGiven’s location, size and large amount of cargo make the operation more complex, Capt.Sloane said. The operation should initially focus on dredging the bank and the seabed around it to float again, rather than unloading its cargo, which could take weeks.

That’s because the clock is also structurally advanced for the vessel, he added.

“The later, the worse the ship’s condition will be, because it’s slowly sinking,” said Captain Sloane, vice president of the International Salvage Union.

Boats are designed to flex, but not to stay in that position with a full load for weeks. So it is not an easy situation.

The backlog of ships could stress European ports and international container supply, already strained by the coronavirus pandemic, according to IHS Markit, a business research group.

He said 49 container ships were scheduled to pass through the canal in the week since EverGiven was hosted.

Satellite and photos distributed by the canal authority show EverGiven’s bow touching the east wall, while her stern appeared to be lodged against the west wall.

It was not immediately clear what caused the EverGiven to jam, although the channel authority blamed bad weather. GAC, a global transportation and logistics company, said the ship had experienced a power outage, but did not elaborate.

Evergreen Marine Corp, a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said the EverGiven had been overtaken by high winds when it entered the canal from the Red Sea, but none of its containers had sunk.