Posted on April 6, 2021
Dutch shipping services provider Boskalis, which own Smit Salvage, a group involved in the rescue effort, likened the operation to trying to free a beached whale. “The more secure the ship is, the longer an operation will take,” Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis, told the Netherlands’ Nieuwsuur television programme on Wednesday. “It can take days to weeks. Bringing in all the equipment we need, that’s not around the corner.” Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the technical manager of the Ever Given, said an attempt to refloat the vessel in the morning had been unsuccessful, with another planned later.
The 400m long Ever Given, operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine, is one of the world’s largest container ships and is weighed down by thousands of tonnes of cargo, with its position suggesting its bow and stern are wedged on the shallower banks of the canal edge at the southern end. Ranjith Raja, an analyst with financial services data firm Refinitiv, said more than 206 ships were waiting on either side of the canal to transit. The number has roughly doubled in the past 24 hours.
Recommended The first vessels appeared to start turning away from Suez and towards the Cape of Good Hope late on Thursday, including the Ever Greet cargo ship — a sister vessel of the Ever Given.
Salvage companies may need to remove fuel from the ship’s tanks to help lighten the vessel and consider offloading some of its containers — an arduous task given the relatively remote location, sheer height of the ship and lack of infrastructure on the ground. While salvage experts hope higher tides may help release the vessel if the dredgers can remove enough sand and soil, fears are growing that refloating the Ever Given may prove more complex.
“If goods have to be rerouted via Africa due to the blockage this could add as much as 10 days to delivery times for UK businesses,” Glen said. “If this does happen it will inevitably lead to shortages of goods and inflationary price rises for consumers.” John Glen, an economist at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said a prolonged shutdown of the canal risked severe disruption to supply chains.
The Suez Canal in numbers Oil prices have taken some support from the blockage as long lines of tankers wait to pass, though traders said there was no immediate concern about supply shortages. Brent crude, the international benchmark, shed some of Wednesday’s gains to trade near $61 a barrel on Thursday. A UK government spokesperson said there was a risk that some goods “may be delayed” in transit.
