In Egypt, efforts resumed on Thursday in the Suez Canal to rescue one of the world’s largest container ships, Ever Given, which has completely blocked the movement in a transport artery vital to the global economy. Five tugs are involved in the operation. At the moment, it is difficult to predict how long this operation will have to continue, said Peter Berdowski, head of the Dutch company Boskalis, which is involved in the ship relocation efforts. “We cannot rule out that this could take several weeks, depending on the circumstances,” Berdowski told Dutch television program Nieuwsuur. The ends of the ship are stuck on the banks of the canal, he said. “It’s like a huge whale thrown ashore. It’s a huge weight in the sand. We may have to combine weight reduction by moving containers, oil and water from the ship, tugging and dredging,” Berdowski explained. The dredgers are working to move sand and mud next to the ship, while the tugs are trying to move the ship, said Everhard’s technical management company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The maritime transport company GAC has informed customers that efforts to move the ship are continuing, however, due to the wind and the huge size of the ship, the operation is difficult. If the situation is not resolved within the next 24 to 48 hours, transport companies may have to replan their shipping routes and choose a route around Africa, which will result in ships taking about a week more to travel, experts say. The 400-meter-long and 59-meter-wide ship Ever Given, flying the Panamanian flag, turned sideways and stuck, completely stopping sailing in the Suez Canal. The ship was on its way to the Dutch port of Rotterdam. The Suez Canal, excavated more than 150 years ago, is one of the world’s most important trade routes. Last year, almost 19,000 ships passed through the canal, carrying more than one billion tons of cargo. Source: LETA
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