The giant cargo ship “Chang Chi” ran aground in the Suez Canal on March 23, stuck across the river and blocked traffic. Cleaning up the scene and clearing the channel is underway. Experts warned that it may take days or even weeks to restore the channel to normal passage.
The canal blockage has left a large number of cargo ships stranded at both ends of the canal. International shipping industry publication “Lloyd’s List” (Lloyd’s List) data show that the daily amount of stranded cargo is estimated at $ 9.6 billion, the “Wall Street Journal” estimates the amount of stranded cargo of $ 12 billion.
This is the worst cargo ship grounding and channel blocking accident in the history of the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal Authority (Suez Canal Authority) reopened an older section of the channel to divert some ships, but the channel can only accommodate smaller vessels.
The Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, opened in 1869 and expanded in 2015, is a hub for trade between Europe, Asia and Africa, with 12 percent of global trade passing through the waterway.
The bow and stern of the cargo ship got stuck on the embankments on both sides of the canal, and the bottom of the ship ran aground in the riverbed.
Sal Mercogliano, an expert in maritime history at Campbell University, explained that the freighter’s bow and stern were deep in the riverbed on both sides of the canal, making it very difficult to refloat the behemoth.
After the incident, there have been nine tugboats involved in rescue operations, trying to get stuck freighter out of the trap.
The freighter’s owner, Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., said it was possible to free the freighter, which was embedded in the water and the embankment, as early as Saturday (March 27).
Dredging the river
The river around the stranded cargo ship needs to be dredged to remove the sand and silt from the side of the ship.
The work was undertaken by Boskalis, a Dutch river dredging engineering company.
The U.S. government offered to help.
The excavator on the bank is responsible for clearing the sand and gravel mud around the bow of the ship
Excavators on one side of the shore clearing sand and gravel around the bow on March 25
Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis, explained that the cargo ship was heavy, so it was stuck deep in the riverbed when it ran aground and required a multi-pronged approach of dredging, towing and offloading to reduce weight before it could get out of the way, loosen up and float.
The Suez Canal was expanded in 2015 so that the world’s largest ships could now pass through.
Unloading and weight reduction
Another part of the work to free a stranded cargo ship is to unload cargo and fuel to reduce the weight of the ship and bring it to the surface.
The “Chang Chi” weighs 200,000 tons and can carry up to 20,000 20-foot containers.
A tugboat manages to push and pull the stranded cargo ship off the ground and refloat it (25 March 2021)
Tugboat manages to refloat the stranded vessel by pushing and pulling
The risks of this phase include possible damage and the possibility of the vessel losing balance, which is difficult and Time-consuming to operate.
Water-based cranes were required, as well as calculations of the ship’s dynamic balance and stability.
Mocogliano said the worst-case scenario that could occur is because of a load imbalance leading to hull breakage.
Unloading the cargo ship’s fuel is relatively easy, but not very useful for overall load shedding.
Shipping lanes blocked
As of March 26, more than 160 vessels were counted stranded at both ends of the canal, including 41 container freighters and 24 tankers.
In addition to oil and gas tankers, cargo ships passing through the Suez Canal mainly carry clothing, furniture, industrial production parts and auto parts.
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Secretary-General Guy Platten (Guy Platten) said in an interview with the BBC that some shipping companies have begun to allow cargo ships to change routes and detour around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
This means an additional 3,500 miles of voyage and 12 more days of sailing time.
The Suez Canal Authority (Suez Canal Authority) has reopened an older section of the channel to divert some ships, but the channel can only pass smaller ships.
The Suez Canal blockage will have a major impact on the global supply chain, and it is consumers who will ultimately pay for it.
The “Chang Chi” was built in 2018, registered in Panama and operated by Taiwan‘s Evergreen Corporation. The cargo ship is 400 meters long, 59 meters wide and has a displacement of about 220,000 tons, making it one of the largest ships currently in operation.
According to media reports, the “Chang Chi” was stuck in the northbound channel of the Suez Canal on its way to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands on March 23 when it encountered strong winds and a sandstorm that caused the ship to deviate from its course and run aground on the bottom.
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