Egypt assured that the wind was not the main reason for the ship’s grounding in the Suez Canal: it suggested that there was a technical or human error

The director of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Usama Rabie, assured this Saturday that the sandstorm was not the “main cause” of the grounding of the ship Ever Given, which blocked the channel.

Rabie did not elaborate on the specific reason that caused the incident, but explained at a press conference that there is “other factors“: a technical or human error could have contributed to the accident..

So far the official version attributed to Tuesday’s sandstorm the maneuver by which the ship crossed in the channel and caused a traffic jam of 321 boats, as revealed this Saturday Rabie. These ships are stuck in the canal itself or are anchored while waiting to be able to cross this strategic route for the commerce of the whole world.

On the other hand, this Saturday began a towing operation of the huge 400-meter-long vessel, a length of four football fields, after the excavation carried out around the stuck bow of the ship, as previously reported by Rabie.

The operation involves nine huge tugs whose success “depends on many factors including wind directionAs explained in a statement released Friday evening.

The Dutch firm Boskalis, owner of the emergency response team hired to assist with rescue operations, said the efforts it might take a few days as long as even heavier tugs appear.

“Heavy tugs, with a combined capacity of 400 tonnes, will arrive this weekend. We are hoping that a combination of tugs, bow sand dredging and high tide will allow us to get the boat off the ground early next week.“Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, explained to the Dutch TV show News time Friday night.

In addition, in the next few hours, a land crane will arrive to relieve the load on the ship by unloading its containers. “If we can’t remove it next week, we’ll have to remove around 600 containers from the bow to reduce weight.“, added.

The ship ran aground on Tuesday and has since caused an unprecedented traffic jam on one of the world’s busiest trade routes, causing the hijacking of more than 200 ships and paralysis of $ 9.5 billion worth of cargo. euros per day.

Japanese ship owner expects unlock to take place on Saturday

The owner of the container ship blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt said that I was convinced the ship would be unlocked this Saturday night, although so far they have spoken of days, even weeks.

“We remove the sediment with additional dredging toolsYukito Higaki, chairman of the Japanese company Shoei Kisen, which owns the ship, said at a press conference on Friday, Japanese press reported on Saturday.

He said he hoped the Ever Given would be unlocked “morning [sábado] the night“.

“The ship has no waterways. You have no problem with the rudder or the propellers. Once refloated, you should be able to operate“Added the chef.

The company hired to unlock Ever Given had so far been more cautious and spoke of “days or even weeks“Resume traffic from the channel through which 10% of international maritime trade passes, according to experts.

Since Wednesday, the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has been trying to unblock the ship stuck south of the canal, a few kilometers from the city of Suez.

An operation carried out on Friday by the SCA with the help of tugs “has failedSaid Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the Singapore-based company that provides technical management of the vessel. The next arrival of two Egyptian tugs of 220 and 240 tons is expected, according to this company.

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