Suez Canal rescue: How 'moon' helped free stranded megaship after 6 days

While the salvager teams, dredgers, and numerous tugboats were needed to dislodge the stranded mega container ship MV Ever Given, the rescue was made possible due to the unforeseen galactic entity propelling force needed to push the 400-meter (1,300-foot) giant vessel out of the canal, the full moon! Mammoth Panama flagged cargo ship, that wedged lengthways for nearly a week, blocking good cargoes and oil tankers behind waiting to traverse the key maritime passageway, channeled buoyant force due to strategic alignment of the Sun, moon, and the Earth that led to super high spring tides in the canal waters. 

Hours before the Salvagers and at least 14 tug boats could wrench the vessel’s stern free with strenuous pulling maneuvers from three directions, Ever Given was partially refloated as the high tides caused by the March’s supermoon peaked on Tuesday, Suez canal forecasts stated. A tide forecast data compiled by Suez authorities stated, ‘The predicted tide times today on Tuesday 30 March 2021 for Suez are: first high tide at 00:08 am, first low tide at 6:25 am, second high tide at 12:28 pm, second low tide at 6:45 pm.” This was when the salvagers were more vigilant in their rescue mission, as after Tuesday, the spring tides would decline again. 

[Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov shared images taken from the International Space Station of the Ever Given cargo ship stuck askew in the Suez Canal on March 27, 2021. Image credit: Roscosmos/NASA]

A team, on the same day, was quickly dispatched by Dutch dredging and heavy-lift firm Boskalis to the key global trade marine corridor, taking advantage of the lunar effect. ROSCOSMOS astronaut Sergei Kud Svlchkov shared images of the stranded Ever Given at the canals’ chokepoint, showing Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. operated mega tankers' orbital vantage point. As dredgers utilized the  heights of tides and waves due to the lunar pull to refloat the vessel, the Japan-based Shoei Kisen Kaisha, who owns the ship confirmed Monday that the  refloat operation was in fact “going well.” The firm, however, did not estimate a timeline. 

Freed from navigational artery chokepoint

Boskalis CEO Peter Berdowski cautioned issuing a statement, “Do not cheer so soon”, as foghorns and cheers engulfed the air from both sides of the canal from vessels on a tailback since March 23 with goods worth billions of dollars as EverGreen was finally refloating. Shortly, Suez Canal Authority (SCA’s) announced that the Ever Given had been restored to nearly 80 percent of accurate direction in the navigational artery, and will be sailed to Great Bitter Lake, a wider stretch of water after it is fully refloated when operation concludes.

Ahead of being completely pulled out of the bank, the ship briefly stranded at 205-meter southern section of the canal due to strong gust of winds, exposing the vessel’s fragility and vulnerability. The Suez Canal Authority stated in a release that the teams will initiate a probe to scrutinize the vessel and what likely prompted the historic accident that disrupted the world’s maritime shipment.

[Image Credit: AP]

[Image Credit: AP]

[Image Credit: AP]