The gigantic ship blocking the Suez Canal staged another accident in which a ferry nearly sank

The Never given, the gigantic ship which ran aground in the Suez Canal, it is one of the largest container ships in the world.

It was built in 2018 by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine Corp and sail under the flag of Panama. The ship, 400 meters long and 59 meters wide, can carry up to 20,000 containers for a 224,000 tonnes capacity.

The Ever Given was destined for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and is the largest ship that has ever entered the Suez Canal, according to the specialist site Marineinsight. Its colossal size makes it difficult for the Egyptian authorities to work against the clock to free it from this river pass, one of the busiest trade routes in the world. If the tugs are unable to move the boat out of its current position, they may need to unload the load to lighten it.

The incident was caused by a sandstorm and strong gusts of wind, a common phenomenon in Egypt at this time of year, which deprived visibility and caused the vessel to deviate.

“She ran aground mainly due to the lack of visibility due to the weather conditions at a time when the winds were reaching 40 knots (74 km / h), which affected the control of the vessel”the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority said in a statement.

After the incident, dozens of ships are waiting to pass through the Suez Canal.

According to maritime sources, 30 ships were immobilized at the northern entrance to the canal and three others at the southern entrance.

ACCIDENT IN 2019

This is not the first time that Never given this is news. In 2019, the ship was involved in another accident, also caused by strong winds, it only ended by chance without casualties.

The episode occurred in Hamburg, in Germany, on February 9, 2019, as the ship sailed through the Elbe towards Rotterdam.

On this occasion, the Never given slightly out of its way and got too close to a quay where the “Finkenwerder ‘, a small ferry 25 meters long. It was just a slight friction, but enough to inflict severe damage on the ferry, which was completely destroyed.

The investigation revealed that the collision was caused by strong winds when Ever Given left for Rotterdam.

Fortunately, there were no passengers on board the ferry at the time of the accident. Otherwise, the collision could have had devastating consequences. For their part, the three crew members suffered a great fright and the captain was taken to hospital as a precaution.

The pier, which houses two restaurants, was also closed for some time.

The accident was a sign that Ever Given-sized ships are vulnerable to strong gusts of windeven in controlled situations such as a canal crossing.

“It’s like ice cream behind the wheel of a car”, said an expert consulted by the German media MOPED after the accident in Hamburg. “You can only be lucky there.”

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