[ad_1]
The Forerunner of Ever Given is still stuck in the sand, which means the most difficult part of the operation may lie ahead, said Peter Berdowski, a director at Boskalis, the parent company of rescue company Smit Salvage.
“The good news is that the stern is free, but in our opinion, it was the easiest part. The challenge is yet to come, as the ship must be pushed with its full weight, ”Berdowski told Dutch public radio NPO.
“Right now, the forerunner is still completely stuck in that patch of marl. The real challenge, of course, is pushing the ship out,” he said. – First of all, we cared if the stern moved, because he too he was very stuck. So that’s very good news. But I wouldn’t say it’s a laugh to release him now. “
According to Berdowski, he does not want to “rejoice too soon” after the head of the Suez Canal administration announced that 200,000. t The container ship was reoriented “80 percent” in the correct direction.
“Ever Given” is still “a huge whale lying on that beach that needs to be pushed,” Berdowski emphasized.
A new tugboat would arrive at Ever Given on Monday morning to help propel the ship forward. If it cannot be towed, rescuers will remove the sand with high pressure water jets, and if the boat cannot be towed anyway, some of the containers may need to be unloaded.
At the time, a video was circulating on social media showing what the congestion of 369 ships in the Suez Canal was like:
Aerial photograph of 369 ships in the Suez Canal “ship jam” #suezcanel #Suez #SuezCrisis #SuezBLOCKED pic.twitter.com/diu8vLIfZk
– Newsflash GBA (@GbaNewsflash) March 29, 2021
Egyptian President Congratulates ‘Successful Completion Of Operation’
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday welcomed the “successful” end of an operation to transport the giant container ship Ever Given, which had blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week.
“Today, the Egyptians managed to end the crisis caused by the ship stuck in the Suez Canal, despite the enormous complexity of the process,” AF al Sisi posted on Twitter.
He made this statement after the head of the Suez Canal Administration (SCA) announced that Ever Given’s position had been reoriented “80 percent” in the right direction with the stern launch.
However, the head of the SCA, Osama Rabie, has not yet confirmed that the rescue operations have been completed. Earlier Monday, he said that efforts to fully free the ship by noon would continue.
A journalist from the AFP news agency reported from the scene that the ship was not moving after noon (1pm Lithuanian time).
AF al Sisi also said that “the Egyptians have shown today that they can still solve problems.”
The president added that the Suez Canal, inaugurated in 1869, was dug “by his grandparents, by the force of their bodies.”
The famous shipping magazine Lloyd’s List indicates that 425 ships are waiting to cross this crucial channel. Some shipping companies direct ships through the Cape of Good Hope sailing around the African continent.
The 400-meter-long, Panamanian-flagged MV Ever Given crashed into the canal on Tuesday, blocking any movement on this waterway, greatly shortening the route between Asia and Europe and North America.
According to Lloyd’s List, in total, a day of the closure of the Suez Canal interrupts more than 9 billion. movement of goods worth dollars (7.6 billion euros) on this inland waterway. A quarter of the daily traffic on the Suez Canal is related to container ships such as Ever Given.
Built in 2018, the nearly 400m long and 59m wide MV Ever Given is among the largest merchant ships in the world and can carry approximately 20,000 ships at a time. containers. She was previously in Chinese ports and sailed to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal is an important route for the transportation of oil, natural gas, and cargo. 10% travel in it. all cargo in international maritime trade.
[ad_2]
