(3 minutes read)
· The head of the Suez Canal Authority- Lieutenant General Osama p hailed the salvage team who worked to free the container ship, which blocked the canal leading to traffic disruptions for days. High tributes were given to the team at a ceremony in Ismailia held yesterday (1st April 2021)
· He termed the salvage of the container Ever Given a miracle
· Much of the difficulties in the salvage operations were due to the colossal nature of the ship weighing 223,000 tons, with 13,000 containers and a massive length of 400 meters (1,300 ft). The ship blocked the canal which is 250 meters wide (820 ft., almost diagonally
The head of the Suez Canal Authority- Lieutenant General Osama p hailed the salvage team who worked to free the container ship, which blocked the canal leading to traffic disruptions for days. High tributes were given to the team at a ceremony in Ismailia held yesterday (1st April 2021). He termed the salvage of the container Ever Given a miracle. Much of the difficulties in the salvage operations were due to the colossal nature of the ship weighing 223,000 tons, with 13,000 containers and a massive length of 400
meters (1,300 ft). The ship blocked the canal which is 250 meters wide (820 ft., almost diagonally.
For almost a week the Panama- flagged vessel blocked a crucial artery of global shipping after it crashed into the bank of the canal. During that time, Ahmed Mahmoud and two captains were among a team who worked around the clock to refloat the ship. The blockage had disrupted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce. The ill -fated vessel is now anchored in the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south ends of the canal. The ship is likely to undergo some repair works during its halt to make it sea worthy. It is still to be ascertained how the cargo is going to be handled, whether it would be transshipped into other vessel/s or would remain with the ship till the time it completes the voyage.
In the meantime, as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com an inquiry team has been set up to investigate the reasons for the mishap and presumably to fix the responsibility. The Egyptian Government has said that it was open to an impartial inquiry by experts. The results of the inquiry would take a longer time to come out since fixing the responsibility would be a complex issue, having regard to the various issues involved.
