Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake.

Loading

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in canal would be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Evergreen Marine said in a statement that the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea but none of its containers had sunk.

An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to brief journalists, similarly blamed a strong wind. Egyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm plagued the area on Tuesday, with winds gusting as much as 50 kilometres per hour.

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied on Thursday.

Loading

“Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding,” the company said.

Tuesday marked the second major crash involving the Ever Given in recent years. In 2019, the cargo ship ran into a small ferry moored on the Elbe River in the German port city of Hamburg. Authorities at the time blamed strong wind for the collision, which severely damaged the ferry.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Middle East, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $US63 a barrel Thursday.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world’s largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the waterway.

The stranding marks just the latest to affect mariners amid the pandemic and trade spats with China. Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, along with prices, adding to the pressure on tired sailors and on supply chains.

AP