The MV Ever Given, a Panama-flagged vessel operated by Taiwanese company Evergreen and owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, of Japan, became wedged sideways across the canal on Tuesday following strong winds.
The governmnent’s warning came amid fears it might take “weeks” to re-float the massive container ship.
Peter Berdowski, the chief executive of Boskalis, a salvage firm involved in the rescue operation, told the Dutch current affairs programme Nieuwsuur on Wednesday evening that the vessel could not be simply pulled free because of its weight.
“The more secure the ship is, the longer an operation will take. It can take days to weeks. Bringing in all the equipment we need, that’s not around the corner,” he said.
Ever Given is a 200,000-tonne, 400m behemoth capable of carrying 20,000 containers.
Some 150 ships are now queueing both behind and ahead of it to pass through the vital canal, which carries about one-tenth of the world’s trade.
Egypt is losing around US$400m every hour that the Ever Given container ship continues to block the Suez Canal, a report has said.
According to Lloyd’s List estimates, westbound traffic through the shipping route is worth about US$5.1bn per day and eastbound traffic about US$4.5bn.
Authorities in Egypt are considering granting compensation to ships stuck waiting to pass through the canal, according to Egypt Independent.
Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority, insisted on Thursday that the Authority “has the experience and capabilities that qualify it to float the ship successfully”, adding that it was not the first such incident to occur in the Canal.
However, efforts on Thursday to dislodge the Ever Given failed and will continue on Friday.
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Source: The Independent
BDP International is actively monitoring the situation and reaching out to our customers who have cargo aboard the EVER GIVEN, as well as the impact on other vessels in the area. We will continue to share updates as we receive them, but should you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your local BDP representative.
