March 23rd, 2021, movement through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world came grinding to a halt with the grounding of the Ever Given. The Ever Given is a massive container ship weighing over 200,000 tons and stretching nearly a quarter mile in length. This ship is among the biggest in the world, and due to its size, posed a considerable undertaking to free it from the banks of the Suez Canal. The Ever Given was travelling from China to Rotterdam through the canal when it became caught in a desert storm with high intensity winds. The ship’s massive bow was driven into the right bank of the canal after the high winds kicked the Ever Given off its line of travel. Consequently, the stern of the ship swung out to the left and connected with the left bank of the canal. The Ever Given became horizontally wedged in the Suez Canal, blocking any inch of passage through it. Panic now began to set in because for every minute the ship was stuck, trade was being delayed, money was being lost, and resources were being exhausted. 

Not long after the grounding of the Ever Given did canal authorities begin efforts to free the ship. The Suez Canal Authority placed Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch dredging and heavy lifting company, in charge of the salvage operations in the canal. Workers, dredgers, excavators, and tugs were called in to assist freeing the Ever Given. For over a week the eyes of the world were fixed on the Middle East as the situation in the Suez escalated. Progress in freeing the beached cargo vessel was slow at best. Crews worked around the clock to free the ship but to little avail. The CEO of Boskalis, Peter Berdowski, even stated that to free the ship, “it might take weeks, depending on the situation.” Finally, on March 29th, after nearly a week of effort, the ship was freed from its confinement in the banks of the Suez Canal. The stern was dislodged first and later that day the bow was freed, like King Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone. The ship was assessed for damages following its grounding but seemed to suffer no damage aside from a few cosmetic scuffs. The curse of the Ever Given was finally lifted and trade could resume through this bustling waterway. 

How much of an impact did this have on global trade?

The Ever Given ran aground in the section of the Suez Canal that didn’t have two branches. Therefore, it completely blocked this artery of trade. Approximately 52 ships pass through the canal each day and over the course of this incident some 400 ships were severely delayed in their passage. Among these ships were cargo ships, tankers, and even a few military destroyers. Every hour the canal was blocked, it was estimated that $400 million in trade were being lost. Ships unfortunate enough to get caught up in this mess faced the decision of waiting it out and losing millions of dollars or to seek alternate routes to their destinations, many having to travel around the African continent which would pose its own set of unfavorable circumstances. Everything from Ikea furniture to important automotive chips were on board the many ships waiting to sail through the canal. 

What is the situation now?

While the extreme backlog of ships has been cleared and trade has now fully resumed in the Suez Canal, the Ever Given wasn’t let free so easily. Once refloated and cleared from the canal, the ship was seized by Egyptian authorities where it was relocated to Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake. The Egyptian government demanded that the owners of the ship pay nearly $1 billion to compensate for the trouble it caused. Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), stated that “The vessel will remain here until investigations are complete and compensation is paid.” The seizure of the Ever Given led to much legal debate over who is at fault for the grounding of the ship and who, if anyone, will be forced to pay the “ransom” set forward by the SCA. As of this publication, the Ever Given is still being detained in Great Bitter Lake by the Suez Canal Authority.