The Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal for days is loose. Shipping has resumed. However, it is still expected to take days to clear the congestion of more than 360 ships. A logistical puzzle follows for the port of Rotterdam, among others.
Dredgers and tugs got the heavily-laden ship ripped loose from the clay on Monday afternoon. Responsible for that operation was Dutch salvage company Boskalis, which had been taking care of the 400-metre container ship for the past six days. On Monday morning, it managed to pull the stern out of the clay, in the afternoon the front followed - to the loud honking of tugs. The Ever Given was towed to a wider stretch of canal for inspection, after which it will continue its journey to Rotterdam.
"I am extremely proud of the excellent work done by the team on site and the many colleagues from our subsidiary Smit Salvage and Boskalis at home," said Boskalis chief executive Peter Berdowski. According to Berdowski, the "time pressure was evident and unprecedented".
Logistics puzzle
Several ports now face a logistical hassle. This is especially true for the port of Rotterdam, final destination of a large part of the delayed ships. Transshipment companies will have to unload containers in record time and spread them inland. They do not yet know which ship will arrive when. "The shipowners determine that, but they can only do that when they are sailing again," Rob Bagchus of container handling company ECT told the AD.
It is up to shipowners to spread ships as much as possible among European ports. However, there is not much room. "All ports were already pretty much at the maximum of their capacity," he said. Ships will have to wait their turn at anchorages in the North Sea. Baghus expects it will take weeks for the backlog to clear.
