The giant vessel Ever Given which ran aground at the entrance to the Suez Canal has been freed thanks to the efforts of dredgers and rescuers.
The Ever Green vessel was lodged into the Suez Canal for nearly a week. Credit: Suez Canal Authority
The 400 metre, 220,000-tonne vessel got lodged into the canal last week and ended up causing severe disruptions for global trade. Previous estimates predicted the situation could take weeks to resolve.
Read more: Suez canal crisis could take "weeks" to clear, dredgers warn
The vessel was freed by a legion of tug boats, who used cables and positioned themselves beside the ship to free it. Dredgers worked alongside these tugboats to clear any mud and sand from the bow of the ship.
The process of dislodging the vessel took a number of days.
Osama Rabie, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said the ship has nearly been fully readjusted. Its rear has been pulled away from the shore by 102 metres.
He told the local Nile TV the ship came out intact with few problems.
He added: “We’ve just searched the bottom and soil of the Suez canal and thankfully it is sound and has no issues, and ships will pass through it today.”
Traffic levels are expected to return to normal once tugboats remove the ship from the grounding site. It is expected to have a full inspection to judge its seaworthiness before continuing its voyage.
Should the dredgers and tugboats have failed, authorities devised a third contingency to aid in the removal of the Ever Given.
This would have involved removing cargo and fuel from the boat to make it lighter and easier to move.
This may have required a significant time investment to accomplish.
The vessel could be carrying as many as 20,000 shipping containers and removing them may have proven to be a challenge.
The process may have also caused significant damage to the ship.
Peter Berdowski, the CEO of Boskalis, a dredging company that aided in the dislodging of the Ever Given, expressed shock they were able to pull it off so quickly.
He told The Guardian: “I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully refloated the Ever Given on 29 March at 15.05 local time, thereby making free passage through the Suez canal possible again.”
30,000 cubic metres of sand had been removed from beneath the vessel, which enabled 13 tugboats to slowly pull it free.
The weeklong ordeal has severe ramifications for world trade.
Read more: Covid-19 creates "perfect storm" for global container shipping
Analyst estimations predict anywhere from $6 billion (€5.11 billion) to $10 billion (€8.52 billion) worth of trade was lost per day the ship was stuck and has only exacerbated supply chain disruptions already hampered by the coronavirus.
Many ships looking to travel from Europe to Asia would have had to take an alternate route, around the Cape of Good Hope, which entails a journey that is two weeks longer across old European trade routes that predate the Suez Canal.
It is likely the consequences could be felt for months to come.
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