Advertisement

Updated March 30th, 2021 at 15:12 IST

How did the Ever Given get stuck in the Suez Canal? Is the ship crew safe?

How did the Ever Given get stuck in the Suez Canal? Is the ship crew safe? Here is more information about it, read on to know details about it.

Reported by: Anushka Pathania
AP
| Image:self
Advertisement

On March 23rd, 2021, the world shipping industry's worst nightmare became reality when a 1,312-foot, 220,000 ton ship, Ever Given, had got stuck in the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and since it came to be blocked on March 23rd, global traders began losing billions. Here is a look at how the ship got stuck in the Suez Canal. 

How did the Ever Given ship get stuck in the Suez Canal?

The Suez Canal opened in 1896 and more than 50 ships passed through it on average each day throughout 2020, according to the figures from the Suez Canal Authority. So the question rises that how did the Ever Given ship get stuck when the Cargo ship navigation through the canal is a carefully planned operation?  A report in Washington Post suggests that the area near the Gulf of Suez where the Ever Given got stuck in just one 984-foot wide lane.

Ever Given ship stuck in Suez Canal

According to reports in the media portal, the Ever Given is one of the largest ships in operation at 193 feet wide and 1312 feet long. Reportedly, it is exactly the maximum length allowed in the canal. A sandstorm hit the area this week and the ship was battered by heavy winds.

This further led to the large number of containers on the ship acting as a sail. That further forced the ship off course. The media portal also reports that the disruption appears to have caused the Ever Given ship to become wedged sideways across the canal.

Further, its bow pressed against the eastern wall and its stern wedged into the canal’s western wall. The media portal also reported that Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said that two pilots were on board during the incident.

The pilots and crew on ship are reported safe

Reportedly, Suez-based pilots guide the ship through the canal. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement is responsible for managing the ship’s crew and maintenance. Reportedly, there were 25 members of the crew who all have been reported safe and workers of these kinds of ships typically spend months at a time at sea.

Latest news about the Ever Given Ship

In the latest developments, The Ever Given ship has been shifted from shoreline and is refloating. The Suez Canal has reopened. The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi lauded his country's efforts and stated in his tweet, "Today the Egyptians succeeded in ending the crisis of the grounded ship in the Suez Canal, despite massive technical complications which engulfed this operation".

Promo image credits: AP

Advertisement

Published March 30th, 2021 at 15:12 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo