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Ever Given will need repairs

The Ever Given, this year’s most famous ship, will need repairs. The Evergreen-operated vessel came to worldwide attention in March when it grounded and blocked the Suez Canal for six days.

After a protracted legal fight over compensation between the ship’s owner, Shoei Kisen, and the Suez Canal Authority, the ship was able to leave the canal on July 7. It then spent five days at Port Said undergoing a class survey carried out by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) before leaving for northern Europe on July 12.

Evergreen admitted last week that the ship has to travel at lower speeds in order to follow the guidance outlined in its seaworthiness certificate. As a result, the decision was taken to drop the Ever Given’s Hamburg port call because of concerns surrounding navigation safety.

While it remains unclear what needs fixing, Splash can reveal that the huge 20,388 teu vessel will need repairs.

An ABS spokesperson told Splash: “ABS provided an initial assessment of the vessel prior to its departure from Egypt noting items that would require future repair. ABS, in conjunction with the flag state, issued short-term certificates for the voyage to Rotterdam and continues working with the owners regarding a repair plan.”

As of this morning, the ship was heading west past Tunisia at 11.8 knots, scheduled to arrive at Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, on July 25.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.

Comments

  1. What about if the vessel was needed repair before it grounded in the canal?

  2. Two topics for clarification:
    1. What is the damage, and why the secrecy?
    2. What was the cause of the grounding?
    My guess is it was foolish to attempt passage of the canal under windy conditions with a ship with a huge amount of windage. Loss of control leading to grounding was nearly inevitable. Who made the decision to proceed, and who approved the decision?

    1. The navigation system would be “State of the Art”. So this B**l S**t that the vessel should never have attempted the crossing to start with. I find it very hard to believe…? I maybe wrong…? But I may just be right…?

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