[ad_1]
The 220,000-ton, 400-meter-long, 59-meter-wide container ship MV Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday.
A photo posted to Instagram by Julianne Cona, who is on the neighboring ship Maersk Denver, shows that Ever Given is almost on the other side of the canal.
Several attempts to free the ship have been unsuccessful. The ship will likely block the canal for “at least two days,” Egyptian authorities informed Cairo24.
According to the news website, it was an engine failure that caused the boat to drift off course, come to rest on land, and now get stuck in the mud.
A spokesman for the Evergreen Marine Corporation shipping company told international news agencies AFP and AP that the ship moved during sudden strong gusts of wind. The same is confirmed by an Egyptian official to the AP. It is unclear if this happened before or after the engines failed.
Long lines
The ground support ship it leads in any case to traffic jams between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. According to Bloomberg News, more than 100 ships are queued.
MV Ever Given came about 6 kilometers down the canal, after sailing from the southern entrance to the city of Suez. In the place where the ship is stuck, there is only one corridor.
Several tugs have attempted to free MV Ever Given, which is one of the largest container ships in the world with the capacity to carry 20,000 containers.
Excavators are now used on land as well, in an attempt to loosen the bow of the ship.
Used excavators
The ship, which operates between Asia and Europe, was heading from China to Rotterdam, writes The Guardian.
The 150-year-old canal continues to be a very important trade route internationally. Around 19,000 ships navigate the canal annually, which corresponds to 10 percent of all maritime traffic.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decided in 2014 that the canal should be expanded. The goal was to reduce waiting times, increase capacity and provide access to large ships. The goal has been for twice as many ships to navigate the canal by 2023.
Ever Given is registered in Panama, but is owned by the Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine Corporation. The crew must be in good condition, same with the large container load.
