Evacuation Of The Ever Given Container Ship On The Suez Canal, Authority To Dig Eight Olympic Swimming Pools

Ever Given container ship on the Suez Canal, Egypt. (Source: Suez Canal Authority)

JAKARTA - The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) together with a number of parties have continued to seek the evacuation of the giant container ship Ever Given, which ran aground on the Suez Canal, Egypt since March 24.

The container ship, which is nearly the length of the Empire State Building, ran aground in an Egyptian canal after being caught in a 40-knot wind and sandstorm causing low visibility and poor navigation.

Being one of the largest container ships in the world weighing around 224 tonnes, 400 m (1.312 ft) long 59 m (193 ft) wide, and capable of carrying shipping containers up to 20.000 equivalent 20 ft (TEU), it is not an easy matter to evacuate Ever Given from Suez Canal.

At least two dredgers, nine tugboats, and four diggers on the banks of the canal were deployed to re-float Ever Given so that the world trade channel can resume normal activities.

"The dredgers are working hard to remove sand and mud from the bow of the ship. They have to move the sand between 15.000 and 20.000 cubic meters (530.000 to 706.000 cubic feet) to reach a depth of 12 to 16 meters (39 to 52 feet), which allows the ship to float", said SCA, cited from CNN. That's roughly eight times the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

Ever Given container ship (Wikimedia Commons / Robert Schwemmer for NOAA's National Ocean Service)

In addition to the existing dredgers already on site, the special suction dredgers are now together with other auxiliary vessels to start work soon.

"This dredger can move 2.000 cubic meters of material every hour", Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), Ever Given's technical management, said in a statement.

SCA explained that they had discussed options to move this giant ship by dredging the area around it. A senior canal pilot at SCA told CNN Wednesday that the refurbishment of the massive vessel was "technically very complex" and could take days.

"An expert rescue team from Dutch Smit Salvage and Japan's Nippon Salvage, who worked on several high-profile operations in the past, has been appointed to help the Suez Canal Authority re-locate the vessel", charter company Evergreen Marine said in a statement.

As a result of this, at least 160 vessels carrying vital fuel and cargo are now waiting to pass through the blocked waterways, according to a senior canal pilot at SCA.

Several ships decided to divert their voyage around Cape Horn to avoid blockage of Egypt's Suez Canal. At risk, they would have to increase the travel distance of 3.800 miles and an additional 12 days of sailing time, according to the International Chamber of Shipping.

"Not only will the goods on board the Ever Given ship suffer severe delays in their journey, but hundreds of other vessels will also be affected. The damage to global supply chains will be significant", said ICS Secretary General Guy Platten.