SUEZ, Egypt: Egypt's Suez Canal Authority chief said on Saturday (Mar 27) that strong wind was not the main reason for the grounding of the MV Ever Given cargo ship in the waterway.
"Strong winds and weather factors were not the main reasons for the ship's grounding, there may have been technical or human errors," Osama Rabie said at a press conference in Suez.
"All of these factors will become apparent in the investigation," he added.
Asked when the ship could be afloat again, he suggested it was possible "today or tomorrow, depending on the ship's responsiveness to the tides",
The MV Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday, blocking one of the world's most vital waterways in both directions.
The canal authority chief said more than 300 vessels are now treading water at either end of the canal, which links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Addressing journalists in Suez, Rabie outlined Egypt's efforts with tugboats and excavators to free the bow and propellers of mega-ship in order to reopen the canal.
Rabie noted that on 10.30pm on Friday the propellers had been able to spin, although not at full speed.
However they were jammed again due to the changing tide, he said, adding that rescuers had had to resort to excavators again overnight to continue the dredging process.
"The type of soil we're dealing with is very difficult to manage, as are the tides which affect the vessel due to its size and its cargo load," he added.
Rabie also noted that the blockage had caused "no fatalities or pollution".
ISMAILIA, EGYPT (REUTERS) - A giant container ship grounded in the Suez Canal could be freed by the start of next week if heavier tugboats, dredging and a high tide succeed in dislodging it, a Dutch firm working to free the vessel said.
About 15 per cent of world shipping traffic passes through the canal, and hundreds of vessels are waiting to pass through the waterway once the blockage has been cleared.
Dredgers had removed some 20,000 tonnes of sand from around its bow by Friday, but tugging operations to free the ship were suspended overnight.
"We aim to get it done after the weekend, but everything will have to work out exactly right for that," Mr Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis, told Dutch TV programme Nieuwsuur late on Friday.
Boskalis owns Smit Salvage, which was brought in this week to help with efforts by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to dislodge the ship.
"The bow is really stuck in the sandy clay, but the stern has not been pushed totally into the clay, which is positive. We can try to use that as leverage to pull it loose," said Mr Berdowski.
"Heavy tugboats, with a combined capacity of 400 tonnes, will arrive this weekend. We hope that a combination of the tugboats, dredging of sand at the bow and a high tide will enable us to get the ship loose at the beginning of next week."
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Saturday thanked foreign partners for offers to help refloat the ship and said the SCA's chairman would brief media shortly on details of the operation to release the ship.
A total of 288 vessels were waiting to enter or continue their transit through the canal as at Friday, including 65 container ships, 63 bulk carriers and 23 liquefied natural gas (LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, according to a shipping source.
Three shipping agents said on Saturday that none of the ships waiting at the canal's entrances had yet requested to be rerouted.
Boskalis and Smit Salvage have warned that using too much force to tug the ship could damage it.
"If we don't succeed in getting it loose next week, we will have to remove some 600 containers from the bow to reduce the weight," he said. "That will set us back days at least, because where to leave all those containers will be quite a puzzle."
CAIRO: The owner of a megaship blocking Egypt's Suez Canal hopes to refloat it as early as Saturday (Mar 27), as the crisis forced companies to re-route services from the vital shipping lane around Africa.
The MV Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the span of the canal since Tuesday, blocking the waterway in both directions.
At a press conference in Japan on Friday the president of Shoei Kisen - which owns the ship - told local media there were no signs of damage to its engines and various instruments.
"The ship is not taking water. There is no problem with its rudders and propellers. Once it refloats, it should be able to operate," Yukito Higaki said in the western city of Imabari, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
The company aims to free the ship "tomorrow night Japan time", he added, the Nikkei said.
"We are continuing work to remove sediment as of now, with additional dredging tools," Higaki said, according to the agency.
Workers have begun using machinery that can remove pulverized rocks in a bid to free the ship on Saturday, when the canal will be at high tide.
The blockage has caused a huge traffic jam of more than 200 ships at both ends of the 193km long canal and major delays in the delivery of oil and other products.
"The focus is now on dredging to remove sand and mud from around the port side of the vessel's bow," the firm said.
Smit Salvage, a Dutch firm that has worked on some of the most famous wrecks of recent years, confirmed there would be "two additional tugs" arriving by Sunday to assist, it added.
There had been "no reports of pollution or cargo damage and initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding".
Crews had been seen working through the night, using a large dredging machine under floodlights.
But the vessel with gross tonnage of 219,000 and deadweight of 199,000 has yet to budge, forcing global shipping giant Maersk and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd to look into re-routing around the southern tip of Africa.
"Shipping companies are being forced to confront the spectre of taking the far longer route around the Cape of Good Hope to get to Europe or the east coast of North America," said Lloyd's List, a shipping data and news company.
"The first container ship to do this is Evergreen's Ever Greet... a sistership to Ever Given," it said, noting that the route can take up to an additional 12 days.
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said the megaship veered off course and ran aground when winds reaching 40 knots whipped up a sandstorm that affected visibility.
Lloyd's List said data indicated 213 vessels were now stalled at either end of the canal, which links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
The blockage was holding up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe, it said.
"Rough calculations suggest westbound traffic is worth around US$5.1 billion daily while eastbound traffic is worth US$4.5 billion."
"THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH"
The canal authority has said between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic metres of sand would have to be removed in order to reach a depth of 12 to 16 metres and refloat the ship.
If those efforts fail, salvage teams will look to unload some of the Ever Given's cargo and take advantage of a spring high tide due to start on Sunday night to move the vessel.
Plamen Natzkoff, an expert at VesselsValue, said teams would likely throw even more resources behind their efforts in coming days to make the most of that opportunity.
"If they don't manage to dislodge it during that high tide, the next high tide is not there for another couple of weeks, and that becomes problematic," he said.
"The stakes are too high for it to take months."
Turkey on Friday offered to send a tugboat to help Egypt free the Panama-flagged vessel, as it pressed on with its bid to mend ties with regional rivals.
The United States also said it was ready to send support, including a team of US Navy experts.
CHIANG MAI: Myanmar's ethnic armed factions will not stand by and do nothing if the military junta's forces continue to kill protesters, the leader of one of the main armed groups said on Saturday (Mar 27).
At least 16 protesters were killed by security forces across Myanmar on Saturday, according to local media and witnesses, as the junta celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day.
"The Myanmar Armed Forces Day isn’t an armed forces day, it’s more like the day they killed people," General Yawd Serk, chair of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army - South (RCSS), told Reuters.
General Yawd Serk, chairman of the Restoration of Shan State (RCSS/SSA), talks during an interview with Reuters in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Mar 27, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun)
"It isn’t for the protection of democracy as well, it’s how they harm democracy," he added.
"If they continue to shoot at protesters and bully the people, I think all the ethnic groups would not just stand by and do nothing."
The RCSS, which operates near the Thai border, is one of several ethnic armed groups to have denounced the coup and vowed to stand with protesters. Myanmar's two dozen or so ethnic armed factions control vast swathes of the country.
Addressing a military parade earlier, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said the army's job was to protect the people and promote democracy, reiterating his promise of a fresh election made after the army took power on Feb 1.
The junta says a Nov 8 ballot, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), was rigged, forcing the military to take control.
The latest fatalities would bring the total death toll to more than 340 in the army's efforts to stamp out the widespread opposition to the coup.
Many protesters are calling for the formation of a federal army and Yawd Serk said he supported that.
"The ethnic armed groups now have a similar enemy and we need to join hands and hurt those that are hurting the people. We need to join together," he said.
At least three Chinese celebrities on Saturday dropped German fashion house Hugo Boss, the latest foreign brand caught in a concerted boycott by Chinese consumers over Western accusations of forced labour in Xinjiang.
People walk past a store of German fashion house Hugo Boss in Beijing, China, March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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BEIJING: At least three Chinese celebrities on Saturday dropped German fashion house Hugo Boss, the latest foreign brand caught in a concerted boycott by Chinese consumers over Western accusations of forced labour in Xinjiang.
Among the celebrities who ended their pacts with Hugo Boss was actor-singer Li Yifeng, who said in a statement through his agent on the Twitter-like microblog Weibo that he would only cooperate with brands that specifically support and procure cotton from the farwestern Chinese region.
Activists and U.N. rights experts have accused China of using mass detainment, torture, forced labour and sterilisations on Uighurs in Xinjiang. China denies these claims and says its actions in the region are necessary to counter extremism.
Hugo Boss, in a post on its Weibo account on Thursday, said it would "continue to purchase and support Xinjiang cotton." But it said on Friday that it was not an authorised post, and had been deleted accordingly.
In an email to Reuters on Friday, company spokeswoman Carolin Westermann said an undated English-language statement on its website stating that "so far, HUGO BOSS has not procured any goods originating in the Xinjiang region from direct suppliers" was its official position.
On Saturday, the brand's Weibo account issued a new statement saying it cherished all longstanding relationships with partners in China.
Hugo Boss China did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Chinese internet users have accused Hugo Boss for backtracking on its position, saying the brand was being "two faced", with some vowing to boycott the brand for good.
"A two-faced person is the most disgusting. I'll boycott you forever," said a Weibo user.
The United States on Friday condemned what it called a "state-led" social media campaign in China against U.S. and other international companies for deciding not to use cotton from China's Xinjiang region over forced labour concerns.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
New Balance, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger and Converse, owned by Nike, are among companies that have come under fire in China for statements that they would not use cotton produced in the far-western Chinese region due to suspected forced labour.
The United States and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which the United States has said have amounted to genocide.
"Several companies are starting to cave in to China's threats by removing their forced labour policies from their websites, and even going as far as promoting "Xinjiang
Cotton" on their websites, which reports show is tainted with Uighur forced labour," the World Uyghur Congress said in a statement.
"This is the ultimate moral test for these companies: opt for respecting human rights or embolden the genocidal regime of the Chinese Commmunist Party," said the largest group representing exiled ethnic Uighurs.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Michael Perry)
ISMAILIA, EGYPT (BLOOMBERG) - With every passing day, it is getting more likely that thousands of 40-foot (12m) boxes on board the ship blocking the Suez Canal may have to be hauled off.
The Ever Given, a 400m-long container ship with almost US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) of cargo on board, jammed itself fast into the banks of the waterway on Tuesday (March 23), and estimates for it to be freed have now risen to over a week.
Tug boats have so far failed to shift the behemoth and some of the smartest minds in the salvage world are hoping dredging will allow them to move the freighter. It might just take a while.
But time is a luxury the ships using the Suez Canal do not have.
The blockage is holding up something like 10 per cent of global trade and a swath of imports that are critical to Europe's supply chains and industry.
Scores of ships have already decided to go the long way around - passing the southern tip of Africa - also depriving Egypt of vital revenue. So there's pressure to get the ship floated and out of the way as soon as possible.
If the dredging isn't working, or if it's too slow, then one of the first things the ship's salvors will do to float the boat is to remove its fuel and ballast so that it sits higher in the water.
Precedents
Operations will begin this weekend to remove containers from the grounded ship, said Mr Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis Westminster, the parent company of the salvage team.
"We are awaiting the arrival of a crane with which we can lift containers from the ship," said Mr Berdowski on Dutch television Friday evening. "We will start taking containers from the ship anyway this weekend."
History shows that lightening the Ever Given might ultimately be what frees it.
Back in November 2004, another vessel, this time a Suezmax-class oil tanker named Tropic Brilliance, ran aground after mechanical problems in the canal, wedging itself across the conduit in a similar way to the Ever Given. The canal authorities were forced to close the canal.
In an almost carbon copy of events over the past three days, tugboats tried to use their immense pulling power to free the tanker, which was carrying 85,000 tonnes of fuel oil, but those efforts failed.
Ultimately, salvage experts brought another tanker alongside, the El Nabila, and transferred roughly 22,000 tonnes of cargo.
On the third day of the grounding, and lighter after the transfer, tugboats were able to free the Tropic Brilliance and reopen the canal. The grounding triggered what, until then, was one of the longest closures of the waterway in years.
But lightening the Ever Given would be a completely different matter.
The boxship is carrying thousands of containers. If salvage experts need to move the same proportion of cargo as they did to free the Tropic Brilliance, it would entail physically removing, one by one, about a quarter of the boxes, an operation that would take days.
Two options
The two main options for this lightening process would either be huge cranes that sit atop barges, or powerful helicopters that could take off the boxes - each one potentially holding up to 22 tons of cargo.
Neither is an easy solution. Heavy-lift helicopters are hugely expensive and deciding the issue of who pays for them would need resolving too.
The crane option is not straightforward either. There are relatively few barge cranes big enough to lift boxes from such tall ships, and again, it is arduous.
"It just takes a lot of time and energy," said Mr Joseph Farrell III, director of business development at Resolve Marine, a company that offers salvage services, who declined to comment about Ever Given specifically.
"It can be quite dangerous too because you've got to get people to climb up on the containers and actually rig each container and lift them off."
There's precedent for just carrying on with the digging.
In 2016, a similarly large container ship became stuck in Germany's Elbe river. What followed was a week of intense dredging around the vessel by Smit - the company employed to dislodge the Ever Given. That operation succeeded after about a week.
But if helicopters were eventually to become necessary, then that would be hugely expensive. They cost an upfront fee and an hourly rate that can get up to US$20,000, according to Mr Farrell.
The lifting can be performed only by a special type of aircraft called sky-crane helicopters that are able to haul loads of 25,000 pounds (about 12.5 tons), according to Mr Nick Sloane, the salvage master responsible for refloating the Costa Concordia, which capsized off Italy in 2012.
Finding the right helicopters is a task in itself, said Mr Keith Saylor, director of commercial operations at Aurora, Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters, a company that provides commercial heavy-lift helicopters.
Many, like the Chinooks that are part of his fleet, are owned by governments or the military, who seldom participate in salvage missions.
The United States has offered to help the Suez Canal Authority, although it is not clear what that assistance might extend to.
Operations will begin this weekend to remove containers from the grounded ship. PHOTO: REUTERS
A few suitable helicopters are privately owned and most of those are in the US, almost 7,000 miles (11,265km) away, Mr Saylor said.
"If you can't find one near the Suez canal you'd need to fly them over," he said by phone from Phoenix, Arizona.
Just the cost to transport the helicopter is estimated at US$1.7 million. Finding the right pilot to fly it isn't easy either. There are probably no more than 100 in the world who are trained for such a task, Mr Saylor said.
Each container could be removed at a 5-minute clip, according to Mr Saylor, so over a period of 12 hours, 144 containers could be removed. The Ever Given can carry about 20,000 steel boxes.
Erickson, a Portland, Oregon-based aviation company with experience dealing with situations similar to the one in Suez, knows what can happen when things do not go as planned.
A few years ago, the company sent helicopters to remove containers from a vessel that was stranded on a sandbank east of Australia. After three weeks of work, the ship would not budge and the vessel had to be cut up, said Mr Allen Wanamaker, senior director of aerial programmes.
Barges
The other option is so-called crane barges - specialist vessels that could be used to lift cargoes off.
But since the Ever Given is one of the largest ships of its kind in the world, it would need a particularly tall crane barge, of which there are few in the world, to do the job.
"It is concerning that they haven't gotten her out yet," said Mr Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence. "If there's news that the hull has been breached, or they need to evacuate the boxes to get her free, then it's a big-time problem."
