In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, a container ship that had run aground in the canal.[4] The 400-metre-long (1,300 ft), 20,000 TEU vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March, and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck in the canal banks, blocking all traffic until it could be freed.[5] Egyptian authorities said that “technical or human errors” may have also been involved. The obstruction occurred south of the section of the canal that had two channels, so there was no way for other ships to bypass Ever Given. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) engaged Boskalis through its subsidiary Smit International to manage marine salvage operations.[6][7] As one of the world’s busiest trade routes,[8] the canal obstruction had a significant negative impact on trade between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
On 28 March, at least 369 ships were queuing to pass through the canal. This prevented an estimated US$9.6 billion worth of trade.[9][10][11] On 29 March, Ever Given was partially re-floated and moved by about 80 percent in the correct direction,[12] although the bow remained stuck[13] until the ship was finally freed by Egyptian, Dutch, and Italian tugs at 15:05 EGY (13:05 UTC)[6][14] and started moving, under tow, towards the Great Bitter Lake, for technical inspection.[15][16][17] The canal was checked for damage, and after being found to be sound,[14] the SCA allowed shipping to resume from 19:00 EGY (17:00 UTC) on 29 March.[18] The vessel was subsequently impounded by the Egyptian government on 13 April 2021 for refusing to pay compensations demanded by the government, a claim deemed to be unjustified by the ship’s insurers. After the incident, the Egyptian government announced that they will be widening the narrower parts of the canal.
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