Ever Given freed from Suez Canal with help from Dutch dredgers

After nearly a week the container ship Ever Given was loosened from the ground of the Suez Canal freeing up the critically important waterway. The Ever Given was being towed south on Monday, where it will be inspected in the basins outside of the Canal before sailing to the Port of Rotterdam.

“I am excited to announce that our team of experts, working in close collaboration with the Suez Canal Authority, successfully relocated the Ever Given on 29 March at 15:05 hrs local time, thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again,” said Peter Berdowski, the CEO of Boskalis. “I’m extremely proud of the outstanding job done by the team on site,” he continued, while praising other staff helping create and execute the dredging plan globally.

Some 30 thousand cubic meters of sand had to be cleared for the ship to pass. In total thirteen tugs were involved in the operation, two of which stemmed from the Dutch dredging company, Boskalis. On Monday morning, the rear end of the 400-meter-long ship had already loosened up. There was no need for more drastic measures such as injecting water at high pressure under the ship or removing containers to reduce the weight.

The 224,000-ton ship initially ran aground and wedged into either side of the canal last Tuesday after it was battered by strong winds. The 400-meter-long vessel thereby blocked the width of the entire Egyptian waterway.

Normally, 12 percent of global trade products on over 300 ships would pass through the canal daily. The congestion, therefore, had an impact on the entire global market. Some ships opted instead to take the much longer route around South Africa’s Cape because of the turmoil.