Evacuation Of The Ever Given Ship On The Suez Canal Entering A Decisive Period, The Government Is Preparing To Move Containers

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

JAKARTA - The Suez Canal rescue team has continued to intensify excavation and dredging around the giant container ship Ever Given, in an attempt to re-float the ship after it ran aground since last Tuesday.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said the team continued to expand the dredging of the canal banks, especially near the bow of the ship to a depth of 18 meters.

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.

Head of SCA Osama Rabie explained that at least 369 ships were waiting to transit the canal, including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, and ships of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

"Shippers affected by blockage on the Suez Canal as a result of this incident may be offered a discount, said Rabie", reported Reuters.

Rabie told Extra News that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had ordered preparations, regarding the possibility of moving several containers, out of the 18,300 containers on board.

SCA source said that several operations and evacuation measures to re-float Ever Given would only be continued this Monday.

As reported by Bloomberg, Ever Given's rescue mission becomes decisive, as rescuers attempt to move it over the banks of the Suez Canal.

"Monday between 4 am and 5 am local time will be a tense moment", said Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, the center company of Smit Salvage.

"A lot will depend on the land beneath the ship. But I will give a 50 percent chance we will succeed", he continued.

Rescuers from SCA and a team from the Dutch company Smit Salvage, have weighed how much traction they can use onboard without risking damage. Including the consideration of moving several containers by crane to allow the ship to float again.

"If we can not immediately get it (the ship) out of the Suez Canal, we have to move about 600 containers to reduce the load on the ship. It will increase the length of time (evacuation) by several days, and it is not yet known where the containers will be placed", said Berdowski.