Dutch marine infrastructure company Royal Boskalis Westminster — one of the salvage firms called to the rescue of a giant container ship stuck in the Suez Canal — has warned that it could take "days to weeks to solve the issue".
The 400m-long Ever Given is still blocking the critical waterway, which links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, after running aground in the canal's northbound lane at 07:40 local time (05:40 GMT) on 23 March. Royal Boskalis Westminster chief executive Peter Berdowski said it is too early to assess the exact timing but added that it is almost impossible to refloat the 199,489 deadweight tonne (dwt) ship because it is too heavy. The firm will try to get rid of as much weight on the ship as possible, which includes emptying oil tanks as well as removing the water aboard and potentially offloading some of the containers, Berdowski said.
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) — the firm managing the Ever Given — said efforts to refloat the ship intensified today. Another attempt to free the ship will be made later today, after one failed this morning. "Dredging operations to assist refloating the vessel continue. In addition to the dredgers already on site, a specialised suction dredger has arrived at the location," BSM said.
Earlier today, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) officially suspended navigation. The canal is an important chokepoint for oil and gas movements. At least five Suezmaxes carrying crude and two Suezmaxes carrying high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) are waiting at Port Said at the northern end of the canal. There is also one Long Range 1 (LR1) tanker and one Long Range 2 (LR2) carrying naphtha, and one Aframax with a fuel oil cargo. A Medium Range (MR) tanker carrying fuel oil also appears to be waiting at Bitter Lake, according to shipping data.
Navigation should resume when the Ever Given is refloated, SCA said, but it is unclear when this will be. Japanese shipowner Shoei Kisen, which owns the giant container ship, described the situation as "extremely difficult". The uncertainty around the reopening of the waterway could prompt some charterers to reroute their crude and oil products cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope, which would increase freight costs. But going around the Cape is significantly longer and charterers might opt to wait for the blockage to be cleared.
