Another attempt to revive megaship prevents Egypt’s Suez Canal from failing

An attempt to stop megaship on Egypt’s Suez Canal failed Friday, the ship’s managers said, as the crisis forced companies to withdraw services from the critical shipping line around Africa.

The MV Ever Given, which has more than four football fields, has been generously circled over the entire canal since Tuesday, closing the waterway on all sides.

“Another attempt to refurbish the vessel earlier today was unsuccessful …” Singapore-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) said in a statement.

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The blockage has caused a major traffic jam for more than 200 boats at each end of the 193-kilometer (120-mile) long waterway and severe delays in the delivery of oil and other products.

BSM said “the focus is now on scraping to remove sand and mud from the port side of the ship’s bow.”

Smit Salvage, a Dutch company that has been working on some of the most famous shipwrecks in recent years, confirmed that “two more tugs” would arrive before Sunday to help.

There were “no reports of contamination or damage to goods and initial investigations rule any mechanical or engine failure as the cause of the foundation,” BSM said.

Crews were seen working through the night, using a large scraping machine under floodlights.

But the ship with a total tonnage of 219,000 remains uncharted, forcing global shipping giant Maersk and German Hapag-Lloyd to look into reorientation around southern Africa.

That is likely to cost several hundred thousand dollars in extra fuel, increasing shipping costs by 15-20 percent, according to Plamen Natzkoff, an expert at VesselsValue.

“Shipping companies are being forced to defy the promise of taking the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope to get to Europe or the east coast of North America,” said List Lloyd, a data company and shipping news.

“The first carrier to do this is Evergreen’s Ever Greet… sister to Ever Given,” he said, noting that the route can take up to 12 more days.

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority said the megaship moved off course and landed when winds reaching 40 nautical miles caused a sandstorm that affected visibility.

BSM also said that “initial investigations suggest that the vessel sank due to strong winds.”

The Lloyd’s List said data showed 213 vessels had now stopped at each end of the waterway, which connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

The blockade maintained a value of about $ 9.6 billion per day between Asia and Europe, he said.

“Rough calculations show that western traffic is worth about $ 5.1 billion per day while western traffic is worth $ 4.5 billion,” Lloyd’s said.

Shipping expert Rose George said it was “inevitable that there will be a cost impact” for consumers around the world, but questioned the definition of wind power. caused the ship.

“I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that more than two-thirds of marine accidents are the result of human error,” she told AFP in London.

The canal authority has stated that between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic meters of sand would have to be removed to reach a depth of 12-16 meters and to regenerate the vessel.

If these attempts fail, rescue crews will try to download some of the Ever Given cargo and take advantage of a spring high tide that is set to begin Sunday night to move the ship.

Natzkoff said teams would be likely to throw even more resources behind their efforts in the coming days to make the most of that opportunity.

“If they can’t make it through that high tide, there is no next high tide for another two weeks, and that will be a problem,” he said.

However, he said, “the stakes are too high for it to take months.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s seaports adviser Mohab Mamish, who was in charge of the recent canal expansion, told AFP late Thursday that “sea sailing will begin to -again within 48-72 hours, at most. “

Rescue experts had already warned that the closure could last days or even weeks, however.

Turkey on Friday offered to send a blackboard to help Egypt free the Panama-flagged vessel, while it continued its efforts to repair ties with regional rivals.

The United States also said it was ready to provide support, including a team of U.S. Navy experts.

Crude prices jumped nearly six percent Wednesday in response to the canal blockage.

But they fell Thursday, at one point reversing the gains.

“Oil prices corrected too many benefits accrued from the Suez Canal blockade as the effects of the unrest are unlikely to last too long,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen of Rystad’s energy adviser.

Ships delayed by the Ever Given include at least 20 boats carrying livestock, raising concerns about the condition of the animals.

Five cattle carriers came from Spain and nine from Romania, the Guardian reported. The vessels went out earlier this month.

The animals appear to be OK at this point, but they could cause problems if they get out of the container for weeks. Livestock transport could build supplies, including food and water for the animals, in nearby ports but this is likely to be a complex process.

Other than supply problems, the vessels are unable to dispose of animal waste or dead animal carcasses.

An animal rights officer called the livestock vessels a “biohazard timeout for animals and the crew and anyone involved.”

Allegations of animal cruelty have been leveled against live transport vessels, including ships arriving in Israel.