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In March 2021, one of the world’s largest container ships became wedged across the Suez Canal, blocking a major global trade route for nearly a week.
News18
On March 23, 2021, an extremely large cargo ship named Ever Given got stuck sideways on the Suez Canal in Egypt, which led to one of the largest shipping disruptions of modern times. The ship had become stuck in such a way that no other cargo ships could pass through the Suez Canal, which is among the most important channels connecting Europe and Asia.
The Ever Given was operated by Evergreen Marine Company from Taiwan. The vessel was almost 400 meters long and had thousands of cargo containers loaded onto it during its voyage from China to the Netherlands.
According to official information, bad weather and low visibility were two factors that made the ship run aground in the Suez Canal.
Shipping across the Canal had stopped instantly.
The Suez Canal is considered to be one of the most important waterways of the world, as it carries millions of dollars worth of goods. These include energy products, electronic products, food items, and many other industrial commodities.
Pictures of the stranded ship quickly circulated throughout global media and social networks.
Among these photos that became extremely popular were the ones of a small excavator working very close to the giant bow of the ship, emphasizing how big the problem was. Before long, it became one of the most talked about stories of 2021.
A round-the-clock effort was made to get the ship off the ground.
Sand and mud were dredged from underneath the ship as tugboats tried to pull the ship out of the channel. In addition, engineers also waited for high tides to help the ship float.
It took almost six days to clear the channel.
In the meantime, hundreds of ships loaded with billions of dollars’ worth of cargo stayed stranded. Sources even reported plans from some companies to send ships through the longer route along the southern coast of Africa.
Finally, on March 29, the Ever Given was refloated and towed out of the Suez Canal.
The Ever Given ship blocked the Suez Canal and exposed the reliance of global shipping on these critical waterways.
Even today, the Suez Canal incident stands as one of the most unusual events ever to occur in the shipping industry.
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