Source: Global Network
[Global Network Report] Taiwan Evergreen Sea Transportation super large container ship "Ever Given" unexpectedly bottomed out and stranded, causing Egypt's Suez Canal to be blocked and attracted global attention. Taiwan's China Times News reported on March 27 that due to the slow progress of sand cleaning, the number of ships blocked has increased sharply for days, and the daily losses have exceeded 10 billion US dollars. Some experts have analyzed that the 28th to 29th is exactly the time when the tides are most full in the near future, and it may be the best time to rescue the Evergien.
Evergreen shipping a container ship ran aground when it passed through the Suez Canal north on the 23rd. (Photo source: Taiwan United News Network)
reported that the professional organization affiliated to Lloyd's List Intelligence evaluated on the 26th that the daily loss was estimated to be US$9.6 billion, or as high as US$400 million per hour, and this figure was estimated as 165 ships on the second day of the blockage. At present, the number of ships blocked by the Suez Canal has increased rapidly from 165 to 209, including 77 bulk wheels, 30 oil tankers, 51 container ships, 22 chemical finished wheels, and 15 liquefied petroleum and natural gas ships, as well as 14 roll-roll and roll-roll wheels, with a total carrying tonnage of 1,699 tons. The goods include crude oil, crops, cement and liquefied natural gas, and the global trade business has been severely affected and suffered heavy losses. At present, all parties have mobilized a large amount of manpower to help the Ever Given get out of trouble. Egypt said that it may take a few days, which will increase the overall loss by tens of billions of dollars.
China Times News reported that in terms of rescue methods, it is common to use tide float method, but it is difficult to carry out at present because the tide difference of the canal is 2 meters, and there is a large section of the bow of the Evergien ship on the shore, which will reduce drainage and make it difficult to float.
reported that if you want to disassemble nearly ten floors of containers on the deck, generally the barge crane is not high enough, so you have to use a special large gondola and add container spreader . However, this method is not automated enough, and it takes many days to unload the container on the bow. Nowadays, the posture of the boat is changed by pressing and drainage. The ballast water on the bow has been drained and pressing water on the stern. However, because the boat is nearly full, the adjustable ballast water volume is very small and the stern water depth is limited. This method alone is obviously impossible to get out of the trap. Therefore, using dredging dredging is the most reliable, but the dredging operation is slow, which will also delay the blockage time.
American media quoted marine salvage expert Nick Sloane as saying that the best time to help Ever Given get out of trouble may have to wait until the high tide period on the 28th or 29th. If the blockage cannot be eliminated within a few days and the tide is used to make the Evergien rise, it will not only cost more than 10 billion US dollars a day, but will also expand due to the increase in blockage ships, and may also have an impact on the logistics and energy markets around the world.
Regarding the cause of this accident, Evergreen Marine said that when the Evergreen entered the Suez Canal from the north of the Red Sea on the morning of the 23rd local time, it was suspected of being hit by a strong wind at 6 nautical miles south of at the mouth of , causing the hull to deviate from the channel and run into the bottom and stranded. GAC, a maritime service company headquartered in Dubai, UAE, said the ship had encountered a "full ship outage", which means it had lost power and steering functions before being trapped, and the cause of the accident is not yet certain. But a spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority revealed that a sandstorm obscured the captain's view, and strong winds simultaneously blew the ship away from the channel, and then stranded and lost power.
Unnamed shipping lawyer said: "This may be the world's largest container ship disaster without ship collision." The Suez Canal is an important waterway for energy transportation. Middle East oil is transported to Europe and the United States through this waterway, while Russia and North Sea oil are transported to Asia through this place. In addition, about 8% of the global natural gas is also transported by the canal. The China Times said on the 25th that this world's most busy trade and transportation route has been paralyzed, and concerns about crude oil shortage have led to a 2% increase in oil prices; if the situation of ship jams cannot be alleviated, it may disrupt the global energy supply chain and affect international oil prices and global logistics.
At the same time, the sky-high compensation has attracted much attention on the island. Reuters said that even if the Ever Giovan is out of trouble quickly, as one of the world's largest container ships, the ship owner and insurer may face millions of dollars in compensation, making the case the largest compensation case for cargo in the world, as one of the largest container ships in the world.
The British Mutual Insurance Association, which is responsible for EVA Insurance compensation, refuses to respond to the specific compensation content and amount, only explaining that EVA Insurance covers pollution and injury compensation. On the 25th, Zhang Yanyi, chairman of Evergreen Shipping, replied in writing to Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation, saying that the "Evergrande" is the company's long-term chartered ship. It is the owner's responsibility to cause damage to the ship due to any operational errors or force majeure on the ship, and the same is true for this accident.
