The Ever Given has been freed from the Egyptian white collar pirates and is on its way now. Freed with a ceremony but what’s there to celebrate? It seems that the owners have paid 540 million US dollars and donated a tug for the one lost during the operation. The destination was originally Rotterdam but it is unsure if that still is. It is expected that a number of consignees don’t bother to collect their containers, already written off as a loss.
Sailing at 8.1 knots.
The UK P & I Club says it’s time for another dive survey.
A tug was lost during the salvage?
I don’t recall that a tug was lost either. It is probably a gesture of good will or something like that.
Marine Traffic show EG anchored off Port Said.
However, they learned something…
They are anchored, in 30 meter of water, at 15 NM off Port Said, just out of the Egyptian territorial waters.
Two days after leaving Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal, the Ever Given is still anchored on the Port Said roadstead on the north side of the canal in the Mediterranean.
According to the British WK Webster group, which specializes in maritime claims, an investigation into the condition of the underwater hull is being carried out by divers. Depending on the outcome, it is decided whether repairs are necessary and whether the ship can go to its final destination in one go.
According to Webster, the bottom of the container giant, which has been held in Great Bitter Lake for more than three months, is also being cleaned. AIS shows that the ship is in international waters, just outside the Egyptian 12-mile zone, so that the Egyptian authorities no longer have any control over it. When the ship lifts the anchors, it can be in a northwestern European port in about ten days.
A spokesperson for the Port of Rotterdam Authority confirms that it is still uncertain whether the ‘blocking vessel’ will come to its original destination port of Rotterdam. The option of a British port is also being explicitly examined. It is clear that the ‘Ever Given’ will go to one port of discharge on the basis of a requirement from the hull insurer and will not complete its originally planned rotation.
According to the spokesperson, this choice is motivated by the fear that affected parties will seize in other ports. When choosing the port of discharge, the shipping company and the insurers are guided by the question of where the least legal complications can be expected. The fact that there are major differences between Dutch and British maritime legislation plays an important role in this.
What is certain is that the Port of Rotterdam Authority will not let the arrival of the currently most famous merchant ship in the world pass unnoticed if it sets course for Rotterdam. “It’s hard to sweep him under the rug,” the spokesperson said. The Port Authority wants to prevent ‘undesirable situations’, such as photographers trying to get close to the container ship with a boat.
When the ship comes to Rotterdam, it will probably be moored at ECT’s Delta terminal on the Maasvlakte, where Evergreen is a regular customer. Because all an estimated 13,000 containers have to be unloaded and stored there, the ship will occupy a berth for some time. This is inconvenient at a time when all container terminals in Northwest Europe are running at peak capacity and many ships are delayed.
In addition, the Ever Given containers will take a hefty bite out of the terminal’s storage capacity (stack), as the release and delivery of all containers is likely to take weeks, and possibly months. Some may quickly be transported by feeder ship to the original final destination, but many containers will first have to be inspected at the port of discharge before they can be released.
It can also be expected that some of the containers with a relatively low cargo value will not be collected. As a result of the months-long delay, the value of many cargoes, such as those of orange EK paraphernalia, has decreased. In addition, shippers have to pay for the costs of the storage and they only receive their containers after they have issued a guarantee. By saying goodbye to their containers, they avoid those costs, at least for the time being.
Dutchie, your thoughts are on target in this giant mess. I hope it turns out better for all concerned parties. Everyone is still in each others pockets. Get rid of the cargo and start over is more than likely the path the owners want to take.
‘Ever Given’ left the anchorage off Port Said this morning.
Now, underway at 10 knots to Rotterdam, ETA July 25.
There is plenty of time to change the destination…
What did the divers at the anchorage discover? A dry-dock is needed?
In the Mediterranean, I see only the Marseille ‘Dock 10’ large enough; on the Atlantic coast of Europe, the docks not used to build new ships, are few… and the large cruise ships, at rest for more than a year, have booked nearly all places…
Interesting. She is currently drifting off the boot. She was doing 0.8kts around 6 hours ago and has freshened up to 2.3kts. Possibly waiting for orders. Apparently there is further litigation over the horizon.
No doubt.
‘Ever Given’ is about 50 miles East of Sicily. Her course was not to the Sicily Strait (and then to Gibraltar) but more northerly to the island, where nothing useful exists…
After nearly stopping at midnight UTC, she is now at 10 knots northerly, direction Strait of Messina. Her AIS-destination is still Rotterdam.
Just North of the Strait of Messina is the large container port of ‘Gioia Tauro’…
And now indicating “stopped” approximately 40nm east of the boot.
This info refers probably to the announcement of Evergreen (from July 16, too) that they will begin to discharge ‘Ever Given’ on July 28, at Rotterdam.
This ETA is already gone with their limited speed of 10 knots; they will need more than 10 days to Rotterdam, 2500 miles away.
This is strange. If they really want to go, they would do the first 1000 miles to Gibraltar in the Mediterranean and, if necessary, wait there for a weather window in the eastern Atlantic, instead of drifting east of Sicily.
Today, south of Sicily, a northwesterly 20 knots and max waves of 2+ meters are given, diminishing to nearly nothing the next days, on the way to Gib. If they cannot handle this…
I could be wrong, but lawyers will be chasing this ship for longer than they like. Time to move on to the next event.
Agreed. Perhaps the weather window is an excuse for the real issue.
Clearly, all these other vessels do not hold the same concerns.
That makes me dizzy on that scale. Lot of shit going on. Gulf of Mexico was crazy as well. Loved my job.
