CAIRO – 29 March 2021: President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said, Monday that Egyptians succeeded to end the crisis of aground vessel EVER GIVEN despite the enormous technical complexity that surrounded the process.
“Egyptians have ended the crisis of aground vessel EVER GIVEN despite the enormous technical complexity that surrounded the process. And with the Egyptians’ success in restoring everything in Suez Canal back to normal, the world must rest assured about the security of the path of its goods through this vital navigational artery”, President Sisi wrote on his twitter account.
He thanked all Egyptians engaging in the refloating efforts, describing them as ‘loyal workers’ who have always proven to be ‘responsible’.
“I thank every loyal Egyptian who contributed technically and physically to ending this crisis. Today, the Egyptians have proven that they are always responsible. Egyptians dug the canal with the bodies of their ancestors and defended Egypt's right to it with the souls of their families. This very canal has always witnessed that Egyptians’ will shall be directed wherever the Egyptians decide.” Sisi said.
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA), announced Monday that the Panamanian container ship ‘EVER GIVEN’ has been successfully refloated.
Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, added that this was the result of successful push and tow maneuvers which led to the restoration of 80% of the vessel’s direction; with the stern 102 m. away from the bank of the Canal now instead of 4 m. prior to the refloating.
According to Official Spokesperson, George Safwat, Suez Canal Authority Maneuvers are set to be resumed once more during high tide at 11:30 a.m.; as it shall reach 2 m., allowing for the full restoration of the vessel’s direction so it is positioned in the middle of the navigable waterway.
Admiral Rabie, reassured the international navigation society as navigation shall be resumed immediately upon the complete restoration of the vessel’s direction and directing it to the Bitter Lakes waiting area for technical inspection.
He also commended the efforts of the SCA workers who achieved this ‘heroic feat’ saying that they have done their patriotic duty impeccably and that in all certainty work will be complete very soon.
The EVER GIVEN ship, 400 meters long and 59 meters wide, has 18,300 containers onboard with a capacity of 224,000 tons ran aground due to bad weather and sandstorm and wedged diagonally across the canal at 151km of the canal, where vessels pass through from both directions. Being stranded at this point, the ship resulted in the suspension of the international maritime trade through the canal since March 25, 2021.
The number of the ships awaiting in the Suez Canal blocked by the vessel that ran aground has reached 321 vessels, and that the authority is providing them all logistic services they need, Lieutenant General Rabie said.
In his speech, Rabei clarified that the incident did not occur in the new shipping lane of the Suez Canal, but it took place in the southern entrance of the canal. “No ships stranded in the Suez Canal have changed their courses to other routes,” Rabie said, adding that he rules out any ships would change their courses in the future, explaining that the Suez Canal “is the shortest passage for the maritime navigational traffic in the world.”
The incident did not result in any injuries, deaths or pollution accidents, he said, adding that the sand storm and the bad weather could not be the main cause of the incident, adding that a human or technical error could be the reason but there will be an investigation to know the exact reasons after refloating the ship.
Mon, Mar. 29, 2021
