Ever Given docks at Qingdao yard, will reenter service in late October

This year’s most famous ship, the 20,388 teu Ever Given, finally docked at a Qingdao shipyard yesterday and is now undergoing assessments ahead of a busy repair schedule.

The Shoei Kisen-owned ship, which suffered damages when it grounded and blocked the Suez Canal in March, is now moored at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, where its repair schedule is expected to last three weeks before it reenters service on an Asia-Europe loop operated by the Ocean Alliance. Much repair work will focus on the ship’s bulbous bow (pictured below at Qingdao yesterday), which was rammed hard into the right bank of the Suez Canal.

The laden Ever Given was held in Egypt for months after it was dislodged as a legal fight got underway for damages between the ship’s Japanese owner and the Suez Canal Authority. Once freed, the ship’s class and flag allowed the ship to head to northern Europe to offload its cargoes at which point it headed back to the Suez and Asia. The 400 m long vessel arrived off Qingdao late last month and was waiting at anchorage for a suitably large berth space to open up.