Dutch company arrives to help free Ever Given as traffic piles at Suez Canal

It has been nearly three days since the 224,000 tonnes heavier Ever Given container operated by the Taiwanese transport company Evergreen Marine is stranded in the Suez Canal, Egypt. The container is currently at the Red Sea positioned at 30-degree 1' 3.468" North, 32-degree 34' 48.756" East, as reported by the MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System. The Ever Given (IMO: 9811000) sails under the flag of Panama and was headed to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for delivery of goods.

Ever Given is 299.94m long; horizontally stuck in Suez Canal that is only 224.94m

The spot where the container grounded happens to the most crucial pathway for several other cargos that ferry goods and oil barrels to Europe and Asia, via the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, the pilot operating Ever Given struggled to steer the massive ship of the position it is currently grounded in.
 
The ship is 399.94 meters in length and is horizontally stranded in Suez Canal, while the overall width of the Canal itself is 224.94 meters (738 feet). Meaning, the space in which the container is stuck is more than the overall width of Suez Canal. Given the situation, reports on Thursday said that the marine authorities are now trying to dig the sand on the banks, so the ship can be towed using the tugs.

Danish company— Maersk's seven vessels waiting to enter the Suez Canal

With the use of tugs on either side of the massive container, the authorities have only been able to move it by a few inches. However, more than 150 containers en route to their destinations via Suez Canal have raised alarming concerns since Thursday. A Danish shipping company— Maersk said that seven of its vessels were held up due to the blockage. A statement released by the Danish firm read "While four are stuck in the canal system, the rest are yet to enter the passage.

Traffic halted at Suez Canal passage; 'Older route, not an alternative' say experts

Satellite images also showed the traffic piling outside the Suez Canal, as they try to enter the passage. In an attempt to provide the other containers with an alternative passage, the Director of Fletcher Maritime Studies Program at Tufts University, Professor Rocky Weitz was quoted by a leading US agency as saying "There is an older channel that where ships can be diverted for some relief from the blockage. However, the older passage is smaller making it difficult for the larger vessels to move through. We have to wait until the main channel reopens."

Ever Given has to be lightened in weight to move: Bokalis 

After repeated attempts to move the diagonally grounded Ever Given, a Dutch company 'Boskalis' has arrived at the Canal to free the ship on Thursday. The company has expertise in dredging whose CEO Peter Berdowski pointed that the container is like an 'enormous beached whale and massive weight on the sand.' as he explained "Combined efforts of winches, excavation equipment, and tugboats had failed till now, even as the tides were higher. The ship might have to be lightened if we want to move it," he described.
 
"We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil, and water from the ship; tugboats; and dredging of sand," he added. Last year in 2020, over 18,000 cargo sailed through the Suez Canal ferrying goods in bulk.

'It might take weeks for the operation to free the container'

The Gulf Agency Company acknowledged the error in making a statement earlier on Wednesday that the 'ship has been refloated.' The GAC however clarified later that "There is currently no indication of when the Canal will be clear and transits will be able to resume."

An Egyptian official on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the operation to clear the Canal would go on until Friday, while the CEO of the Dutch company involved in the operation hinted "We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation."