Suez salvage teams resort to dredging and tugging to free ship
Round-the-clock efforts complicated by rock found under stranded vessel's bow: Sources
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
ISMAILIA (Egypt) • Suez Canal salvage teams were alternating between dredging and tugging yesterday to dislodge a massive container ship blocking the busy waterway, with two sources saying efforts had been complicated by rock under the ship's bow.
Dredgers working to dislodge the stranded vessel have so far shifted 27,000 cubic m of sand after dredging to a depth of 18m, and efforts would continue around the clock according to wind conditions and tides, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered preparations for the possible removal of some of the ship's cargo to help refloat it, SCA chairman Osama Rabie told Egypt's Extra News yesterday.
Rescue workers from the SCA and a team from Dutch firm Smit Salvage had already been mulling over whether some of the Ever Given's 18,300 containers would need to be removed by crane in order to refloat it.
Experts have warned that such a process could be complex and lengthy.
The 400m-long Ever Given became jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds more than five days ago, halting shipping traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways.
"There are positive indicators from yesterday and the day before yesterday," Mr Rabie told Egyptian state TV.
"The rudder was not moving and it is now moving, the propeller is working now, there was no water underneath the bow and now there is water under it, and yesterday there was a 4m deviation in the bow and the stern," he said.
"We're dividing the day into two halves, 12 hours for dredgers and 12 hours for tugs, because not all times are suitable for tugs due to the tide," said Mr Rabie, adding that 14 tugboats were being deployed.
However, two SCA sources told Reuters that a mass of rock had been found at the bow of the ship, complicating salvage efforts.
The SCA is considering discounts for vessels affected by the blockage, Mr Rabie said.
He also said that the canal was losing US$13 million (S$18 million) to US$14 million in revenue daily, after halting traffic due to the grounded ship.
He added that 369 vessels - including dozens of container ships, bulk carriers, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vessels - were waiting to transit the canal.
About 12 per cent of world shipping traffic transits the Suez Canal, amounting to nearly US$10 billion a day in both east-bound and west-bound traffic.
Shipping rates for oil product tankers nearly doubled after the ship became stranded, and the blockage has disrupted global supply chains, threatening costly delays for companies already dealing with Covid-19 restrictions.
If the blockage drags on, shippers may decide to reroute their cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope, adding about two weeks to journeys and extra fuel costs.
REUTERS